I find it interesting that South Dakota harvests more mule deer than Utah or Arizona. Why do you think that is?
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PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota hunters can look back on 2008 as another record-setting year for deer harvest.
According to harvest surveys compiled by the Game, Fish and Parks Department, last year brought the highest-ever recorded deer harvest in the state. It was the ninth straight year that the deer harvest increased.
GFP Game Harvest Survey Coordinator Corey Huxoll said an estimated 74,000 white-tailed deer and 18,000 mule deer were harvested during the 2008 hunting seasons, or a total of more than 91,000 deer. That is an increase of more than 4,000 deer from 2007 and nearly double the 46,000 deer harvested in 1999.
Overall harvest success of 48 percent remained unchanged from 2007. The number of deer tags issued more than doubled from 88,000 in 1999 to 189,000 tags in 2008.
The 2008 Big Game Harvest Projections Report is complete and can be accessed through the GFP Web site at http://www.sdgfp.info in the “What’s New” section, or it can be requested by mail or in person in printed form from 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, S.D. 57501.
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
Some people in Nevada would prefer to hunt mule deer as opposed to feeding them to the lions
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A Nevada bill, Assembly bill 241, was recently defeated. This bill would have required that at least 40 percent of the money in the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account be spent controlling mule deer predators. The mule deer is a favorite of some hunters, including Gov. Jim Gibbons, so they want to protect it so as to be able to kill it. Alas, the mule deer must fend for itself.
It has been reported to me that two wolves were killing mountain goats in Northern Utah so the DWR flew in with a helicopter and killed the wolves. Shortly afterward, a man on horseback reported being followed by a large black wolf in the same area.
Big game
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – State wildlife officials say the winter mortality rate for mule deer, pronghorn antelope and elk was below normal in most of the state.
The mild winter and the lack of major snow accumulation in lower-elevation wintering ranges produced good conditions for the state’s big game populations.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says herds are in particularly good shape in popular hunting areas. That includes the Casper region, south-central Wyoming and the huge deer herd of the Wyoming Range.
For fall hunting season, officials say they expect deer and antelope quotas to be similar to previous years with the possibility of slightly more licenses available for elk.
Here are two rather unusual cases of deer poaching:
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In mid-February, 2009 someone killed two mule deer and dumped the heads in a WalMart parking lot in Oregon.
In late November 2008, a Vermont teenager bolted the antlers of a buck on a dead doe and ran it through a checking station, during a buck only hunt. He was fined $400 and put in jail.
