As is being pointed out by Arizona meteorologists: Northern Arizona has had unusual moisture and coolness for springtime. Typically, the season for moisture is late summer/early fall when the monsoons arrive. Because of the early moisture and the abundance of feed it promoted, some are forecasting a year for massive antlers. If you are lucky enough to have an Arizona Mule Deer tag, let us know what you think of this forecast.
A ten year-old boy by the name of Paul John Schalow was attacked by a mountain lion early in March 2008 when visiting Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. The lion turned out to be rabid.
The boy was commanded to stand still by family members and did so even when the cat started scratching and biting. The boy’s uncle ran to get a handgun and dispatched the lion, which later proved to be rabid. A series of six shots prevented the boy from getting infected.
The boy and his family inadvertently saved the lives of many mule deer. For that they ought to be congratulated.
I am now aware of four cats being killed by vehicles in this small canyon in Northern Utah, three of which were over 200 lbs, and one of which was finished off by a police officer. Automobiles are a fine weapon for saving the lives of hundreds of mule deer even though they are also responsible for killing mule deer, as well. Drivers beware.
Here is the latest:
Photo submitted by Paul Baxter
A friend sent me these photos of a supposed lion attack on a bighorn sheep. The two were in the cliffs next to a highway and both tumbled to their deaths. The sheep was all busted up and the cat still had sheep fur in its mouth.
Photos provided by Paul Baxter
Tags Still Available For Deer, Elk Hunts
(Press Release) 06-07-2009
For those hoping for another chance to get a tag for this year’s big game season, there are still 1,191 tags remaining for hunters wishing to apply for the Second Draw on June 19.
The Second Draw will open at 8 a.m. on June 19 at www.huntnevada.com and will close at 5 p.m. on July 6.Any eligible hunter, including those who didn’t apply in the first draw, may apply for the following remaining tags in the Second Draw.
· Hunt 1341 Resident & Nonresident Mule Deer Antlered Longbow Archery: 101 tags. A portion of these tags were nonresident remaining tags that are now available to residents.
o Units 101 – 108 Early: 80 remaining tags
o Units 211, 212: 17 remaining tags
o Units 251 – 253: 2 remaining tags
o Units 261 – 268: 1 remaining tag
o Units 271, 272: 1 remaining tag
· Hunt 4111 Resident Elk Antlerless Longbow Archery
o Unit 073: 3 remaining tags
· Hunt 1181 Resident Mule Deer Antlerless Rifle
o Units 101,102 and that portion of Unit 104 East of the CCC and Quilici Spring Roads: 740 remaining tags
· Hunt 1107 Resident Junior Mule Deer Either Sex: 347 tags
o Unit 032: 2 remaining tags
o Unit 035: 6 remaining tags
o Unit 051: 72 remaining tags
o Units 071 – 079, 091: 66 remaining tags
o Units 101- 108: 62 remaining tags
o Units 141 – 145: 14 remaining tags
o Units 171 – 173: 93 remaining tags
o Units 181 – 184: 12 remaining tags
o Units 211, 212: 5 remaining tags
o Units 251 – 253: 15 remaining tags
For more information on remaining tags, maps, hunter information sheets and season regulations visit www.ndow.org.
At 7:00am June 11, the remaining Utah archery and muzzleloader deer tags will be sold first-come-first-serve. Good Luck. Click UTAH TAGS
This year, Nevada posted draw results in a record 48 hours. If you applied, click NEVADA 2009 DRAW RESULTS, to see if you drew a tag.
Hunters who see their names listed as successful should check that they have sufficient balances on their credit cards; also check whether there have been any changes (address changes or credit card expiration date changes can also cause problems). If you are shown as successful and need to report credit card changes, call Systems Consulting, Inc. at 1-800-576-1020 M-F, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Over 50,000 hunters sent in 151,000 applications for 22,164 big game tags available in the draw. There are still 1,191 tags remaining after the first draw. Remaining tags are available for eligible hunters, including those who did not apply in the first draw. For more information go to www.huntnevada.com.
June 9 is the deadline to apply for a mule deer hunt in Arizona. You must apply by mail. Online applications are not accepted. Go to the states tab and click on Arizona for more information.
Largest mule deer buck taken by a woman
If she can do it, why can’t you?
How many mountain lions would you have to kill near this same stretch of highway in order to save 95 mule deer per year? Answer: three. How many predators could you kill for $15 million? Answer: A lot!
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BEND, Ore. – Every spring, mule deer migrate from the High Desert to the Cascade foothills in search of summer forage. And every fall, the deer sweep down from the foothills back to the desert to escape winter snows.
And during each migration, the deer run smack into a sometimes-deadly barrier: U.S. Highway 97.
To provide deer with an alternative to bounding across four lanes of traffic, the Oregon Department of Transportation is incorporating two wildlife underpasses into its highway expansion south of Bend, where an estimated 95 deer are hit by vehicles each year.
But it’s not easy to get a skittish deer through a tunnel.
So wildlife experts are using lessons learned from previous crossings to figure out how to get the animals to use the $1.4 million underpasses. They’ve factored in features such as tall fences, vegetation and salt licks, natural building materials and hiding cover to entice the animals.
“The science of transportation ecology is rather new, so we’re learning a lot,” said Sandra Jacobson, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service who specializes in the field. “But it’s turned out that using some good biological principles and some good engineering ingenuity, we can come up with structures that do work.”
The four-mile stretch of road south of Lava Butte will look significantly different upon completion, which is scheduled for fall 2011, said Peter Murphy, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman. The two northbound and two southbound lanes will be separated by a natural, forested median that’s about 100 feet wide.
And the $15 million project is slated to include two wildlife crossings, which make up about a tenth of the project’s cost, he said.
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