Mule Deer Fanatic

In the New Mexico town of Ruidoso. in May 2011, a mountain lion refused to be frightened away from a school yard. The New Mexico Game and Fish decided to kill the lion instead of taking chances. It is bad PR when the cats kill and eat school children. Everyone knows they are not supposed to do that. They only eat mule deer and not enough of those to do any permanent harm.

Utah                  March 3

Wyoming           March 15

New Mexico     March 28

Colorado           April 6

Nevada              April 18

Kansas              April 29

Oregon              May 15

Washington       May 26

California           June 1

Montana           June 1

Idaho                June 5

Arizona             June 8

South Dakota    July 23

The Utah Deer Application Deadline is March 3, 2011.

Go to the “States” tab for more info.

Good Luck on the Draw

Starting January 5, you may apply for hunts in New Mexico. Good Luck

See the States tab for more info.

The Utah DWR has been wanting for years to force deer hunters to hunt in smaller units. In 2012 that is slated to become a reality. And, because mule deer numbers continue to decline, the number of hunt permits will be cut by about 13,000 tags or about 15 %.

The Utah DWR cannot comprehend that predators are responsible for declining mule deer numbers so it is the hunters that must suck it up. The state will be divided into 29 units, and buck to doe ratios must be 18/100 (DWR count) or permits numbers will fall further.

By now, most hunters have forgotten the promises made by the DWR when they cut tags to 90,000 and divided the state into five regions. The DWR promised that there would be more bigger bucks and a better hunting experience and that the deer numbers would increase. But the herd just keeps going down hill and they cannot figure out why.

The DWR is now making similar promises for the new plan. Permits prices are to increase to make up for the revenue shortfall, so once again, hunters take it in the shorts. Mule deer are moving into subdivisions to escape the predators.

Very few hunters showed up at the public meetings to oppose the plan

The western mountain lions are running out of mule deer so they are moving east to eat whitetails. Western Missouri just had a confirmed mountain lion sighting along with a photo. Hair was taken from the site for DNA testing.

The last few years, Kansas has been making a showing. Here is one for your viewing pleasure:

Photo submitted by Paul Baxter

Deseret Land and Livestock and the surrounding area was once a premier locale for monster buck mule deer. This year, after many years of decline, a good one has surfaced:

Submitted by Paul Baxter

Jan 05 , 2010

One lucky boy in Canada can say without a doubt that he has his own personal guardian angel — not of the spiritual kind, but of the furry.

On Saturday an 18-month old golden retriever saved her owner from being attacked by a cougar while in the backyard of their home in Boston Bar, British Columbia, about 130 miles north of Vancouver.

The dog — named Angel — leaped into action and threw herself between her owner, 11-year-old Austin Forman, and the cougar that was charging at him.

Sherri Forman, Austin’s mother, said her son was outside with Angel around 5:30 p.m. gathering firewood from their backyard. She explained that Angel normally runs around and plays when she is outside, but on this afternoon she was behaving differently.

“He had come in at one point to tell me how cute Angel was being because she was sticking pretty close to him in the yard, which was unusual for her,” Forman told CNN.

In hindsight she realizes that Angel was protecting her son from an unseen danger.

When the cougar charged, Angel ran to protect the boy.

“She intercepted the cougar,” Forman said. “Austin came into the house very upset, and I had to get him to calm down so I could understand what he was saying. Finally he said ‘there’s a cougar eating Angel.'”

Angel and the cougar fought under the family’s deck, while Austin’s mother called 911 for help. A constable was in the area and able to make it to their home and kill the cougar quickly.

Forman said when her nephew pulled the cougar’s body off Angel, who at first appeared fatally injured, the dog sucked in a “big breath of air and then got up.” Ever the protector, Angel “walked to Austin, sniffed him to make sure he was alright, then sat down.” Despite receiving a few deep bites and scratches Angel’s prognosis is good.

“She had some pretty nasty injuries across the front of her head and neck” said veterinarian Jack Anvik who is treating Angel at the Sardis Animal Hospital. “If there had been enough time for the two of them together the cougar would have probably killed the dog,” he told CNN.

According to his mother, Austin is so thankful for Angel’s bravery that he “went to town with his grandpa and bought a huge steak for her.”
“I feel very good now that we know she’s alive and the fact that she saved me and survived is amazing,” Austin told CNN.

And Angel appears to be in good spirits while she recovers at the Animal Hospital.

“She’s a golden retriever,” Anvik said. “They’re always happy.”

It is a shame to make good coyotes out of all those bad coyotes. Culls don’t work well in such small numbers. Thousands need to be killed.

The president of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre says the so-called Great Coyote Cull Contest underway in Osgoode “casts shame on the entire city.”
Donna Dubreuil says she has received a slew of e-mails and phone calls since the contest began last month.
“In the past four or five days, I’ve had non-stop e-mails and phone calls,” said Dubreuil, who asked, “Has Ottawa become the town that time forgot?”

Chronic problem
What she’s referring to is a more aggressive approach to a chronic problem in the city’s rural areas: Coyotes killing farm animals, pets and even threatening people — as was the case last year when a teenager was attacked near Osgoode.
But there’s controversy.
The Osgoode Township Fish, Game and Conservation Club-sponsored contest will — for a $2 entry fee — reward those who bring in a dead coyote with a ballot in a gun raffle. Dubreuil calls this approach embarrassing.
“It’s a wild west show,” she said. “An 18th century response.”
Dubreuil also said coyote culls don’t work in the long run.
She points to recent history. Two years ago, Osgoode Coun. Doug Thompson used public funds to pay trappers to eliminate coyotes over a three-month period. They reportedly caught 22 of them. But Thompson himself said, based on the number of sightings he’s heard about recently, the problem persists.
He said he’s received “more than 100” reports of people who have lost pets and livestock, or saw coyotes on municipal streets in the past year.
“I’ve been working with the (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources) and the city bylaw department to resolve this issue,” said Thompson, who will meet with both again later this month.
Bruce Roney, executive director of the Ottawa Humane Society, agrees with Dubreuil that a cull isn’t the answer.

“You can do a cull, but they soon come back, and sometimes in greater numbers,” said Roney, though he claims there is no official ministry data on the number of coyotes in the city.
He also thinks the name of the contest is offensive.
‘Effective’
“If there’s a cull needed, I’d support it. But I think the name may draw people in who aren’t as responsible,” he said.
Dave Craig, director of the Osgoode Township Fish, Game and Conservation Club, thinks it might have been better to call it simply “The Coyote Cull”, but defends its effectiveness.
“There are those people, I suppose, but culls are effective because they bring the numbers down,” said Craig.
“They’re a real problem. They kill sheep, calves, deer — even cats and dogs.”
He also said the cull is a potential tax-saver.
Each time a coyote kills a livestock animal, the provincial government cuts a $200 compensation cheque.
“They pay out for every kill,” he said.
Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder said coyotes are frightening for people whose kids walk to school, but added, “I can’t see us taking guns and shooting them in Barrhaven.”
“That’s overkill, no pun intended.”
Harder said coyotes are the province’s problem, not the city’s.
“The ministry needs to get off its butt, step up and come up with a solution,” Harder said.
When contacted, representatives from the ministry declined comment.