Moose Droppings

I really hate to do this but I just had to test out the new scratch & sniff feature on the blog. You should be able to scratch your monitor screen and smell this wonderful pie and coffee.
This is blueberry season here in North Carolina and we have had a pretty good abundance of the tasty berries. We’ve been eating them by the handful, freezing some, and of course a couple of meals of blueberry pancakes. So tonight I decided to make a blueberry pie. A fresh cup of coffee, a hunk of pie and a good TV show was just the break I needed. I checked out part 2 of the Muzzy Bad To The Bone Bowhunting TV that my good friend and fellow blogger Chesson filmed. What an awesome hunt and what spectacular area that this hunt took place. Chesson followed Michele Eichler of Muzzy Broadheads has she fulfilled her dream of bagging a bull moose.

Photo by Chesson

In case you didn’t see the snow I mean the show Chesson has a diary of the Yukon hunt you should check out
The show will re-air this Wednesday at 1:30pm on the Outdoor Channel

I’d love to chase moose around the Yukon.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

I got side track this week but wanted to get back to the story about the experiment to reintroduce elk to the mountains of North Carolina. As I reported in the earlier story this is the eighth and likely final year in the experimental reintroduction. At the end of this study a decision will be made whether to continue with reintroducing the elk or to abandon the project. My hope is they’ll continue it.

Early on the plan was to bring additional elk in for a number of years to assist the herd in growing in the area however Chronic Wasting Disease brought these plans to a halt.

CWD has been around for a good number of years being discovered in Colorado in mule deer. At first it was thought that it might be limited to that particular specie but it has sense spread to whitetail deer, elk, and moose. There is no evidence that this disease can be transferred to humans. In 2001 when the elk experiment was in its infancy much of the outdoor world was in the frenzy of following the discovery of CWD in parts of Canada and the United States. 2001-2002 was when it was discovered in Wisconsin and a panic was set off with portions of the state under orders to completely eradicate the deer herd to stop CWD. Many dire warnings at that time were being made about CWD and false rumors of its transmission into humans was made. While this is a serious disease and we need to do all we can to prevent its spread the early dire predictions have just not proven to be true.

In response to CWD most states have outright banned the transportation of live deer, elk & moose and have specific regulations on the transporting of dead animals especially from states with outbreaks of CWD. For the most part you can’t transport spine or brain from these animals because of the concentration of CWD in those tissues and fluids. Hunters who wear gloves and debone the meat without cutting into the bones will have safe meat to eat. Additional and more detailed information for hunters is available.

Transportation bans have prevented additional elk being brought in even though there are herds that are disease free. CWD was though to be only west of the Mississippi River until New York discovered a deer with it in 2005. Since then West Virginia has discovered CWD as well.

At this time CWD is not known to be present in North Carolina samples of deer are tested every year. Additionally as part of the Elk Experiment all elk that die are given an autopsy at the University of Tennessee to determine the cause of death as well as the overall health of the animal prior to its death.

Despite the lack of brining in the number of elk they wanted to it would appear the herd is growing slowly and steadily. There was 51 elk stocked in and now the herd is over a hundred even with the deaths of some of the original 51 and some of the elk born in North Carolina. I hope the population continues to grow there is something special about traveling into the valley and seeing these majestic creatures. To improve the experience of the visitors as well as to help educate people there is a special group of volunteers in the valley. Next up I’ll tell you who these folks are and what exactly they do.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Yesterday Maine held it’s annual Moose Lottery and it looked like an exciting event. I want to thank Tom & Steve and everyone else involved to make the live podcast from Kittery Trading Post possible. Although I couldn’t be there it was great to watch the fun and the excitement when the 3000+ names were read. Some of the lucky folks were in the audience and that was great. In case you still don’t know if you got drawn here is a link to the winning folks Good Luck to all that got drawn and I hope you have an enjoyable hunt this fall.

Well the big day is almost here, Thursday to be exact, when Maine draws the names for the 2008 moose tags. This is my first year back in after being drawn in 2005 so I’m hopeful I’ll be drawn again but realistically my chances are slim.

Living in Maine for a number of years I remember in the early days listening to the live draw on the local radio station straining to hear my name or someone else that I knew. Living here in North Carolina that exciting radio broadcast has not been an option so in 2005 I received a phone call from my brother telling me that I’d been drawn.

Well this year Skinny Moose will broadcast the draw from Kittery Trading Post so everyone can hear the drawing. Good Luck To everyone I’ll have my lucky hat on. I’d love to have some moose steaks to grill this coming winter.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has announced a significant change for next year’s lottery with the elimination of paper applications.

Notice: Beginning in 2009, moose permit applications will only be accepted online. Paper applications will no longer be printed or mailed. The online application process will be available starting in early January of 2009.

There is no doubt that many wildlife agencies are moving towards utilizing the internet. For example this turkey season I tagged both my turkeys on line with NCWRC.

I can’t help but wonder if all the residents who hunt have access to the net and feel comfortable enough with conducting such a transaction on line. I got to admit that I was surprised that the 2000 census shows that Maine is slightly above the national average with 43 % of the homes having internet access.
I’m aware that many people do not feel comfortable doing credit card transactions over the net so it will be interesting to see how well this goes. I completed my moose application for this year’s draw on line so it will not make a difference for me because I’m pretty comfortable in doing such transactions over the web. What do others think? I wonder if they should of went to an on line as well as applying at license retailers for the first few years instead of making such a big leap.

Story and Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The opportunity came up for me to travel up to New England for this past week so I’ve been on the road. I got to visit with some family and old friends as well as make some new ones along the way. As I often do I let a sample of some of my photos tell you about my trip.

Humpback Whale

Nuble Light Maine

Moonlight

Black Bear White Mountains National Forest

Cow Moose feeding in pond

Hope you enjoy them.

Well this is the 2nd year I have to sit out so I wasn’t in tonight’s Maine Moose tag draw. A quick look at the results I didn’t notice any family of friends that got drawn unfortunately. I see that there was a few folks from NC that were lucky and will be embarking on what should be the hunt of a life time.

Here is the link to see if you were lucky and next year I’ll be back in the draw.

Tom over at Black Bear Blog has an interesting story today on the drop in numbers of applicants for moose permits and why this trend. Here is my take from my perspective on the topic.

• The early days of the hunt was a lot easier because Moose did not perceive man as much of a threat with many years of non hunting. This is a good thing to bring this balance back however many non hunters don’t like this because the moose no longer pose for their cameras.
• Girl friend/ Wife Factor: When I first moved to Maine I took a hunter safety class and I was basically the only male over the age of 20 taking the class most of the class was made up of teenagers and women of all ages. It seems at the time as long as you had a License the permit holder did not have to be present when the moose was harvested. So it was not uncommon for the entire household to put in for a permit. That has since changed and I suspect many non-hunting women have said no they did not plan to spend a week’s vacation tromping around the Maine woods so their man could shoot a moose and they could tag it for them.
• Hunting numbers are dropping according to most statistics I see across the nation.
• Ending the hunter choice tag now you get antlered or non-antlered tag.
• More states open to moose hunting.
• A perception that moose hunting is easy “moose are extremely dumb” “you can drive up to them and get out and shoot” nothing is further from the truth. A moose hunt is a challenging hunt and most moose don’t hang around like they use to just begging to get shot.
• Making preference points for non-resident obsolete. This I think was a huge mistake because now the system is geared towards the non-residents who have some money. Old way there was a limit on the # of chance you could buy and with each unsuccessful yearly draw you got an extra one next year provided you put in. Now you still get that but also now you can buy as many draws as you like. So what is the incentive for someone to put in every year as a non-resident? Now I’ll say that I’ve been drawn under both systems so I know its not fixed. I buy mine still like the old system I don’t buy a whole lot of extra chances.
• Support network is not there. The art of butchering is not one that the majority of hunters I know practice, most pay someone to cut up their deer each year. Especially in the Northern zones for the late hunt there is no one cutting up moose that I’m aware of. I was lucky and had a good group of guys helping me that we butchered my last moose ourselves. My first hunt there was some butchers from down state that set up in the North to cut moose but now that the moose hunt has expanded down into more central and southern parts of the state these guys I’m sure have ample business near them without the burden of traveling. Most guide services will only skin & ¼ your game if you hunt with a guide service so butchering can be an issue.
• Cost factor Both my hunts were done on the cheap; I have friends who are Maine Guides as well as family members who live in Maine that hunt so I have some savings over the typical hunter. I stay with family and a lot of my meals were with family. The major expenses after license & tag is transportation to get up there for the hunt and the cost of getting around once up there. My first Moose hunt in 97 was around $2,500 and the second hunt in 2005 was about twice that. A hunter using a guide can expect the cost to be even higher. Hunters need to make a choice of what they’ll spend their limited $ on I think other hunt tags maybe easier to obtain as well as being able to hunt with a group of buddies rather then one subpermitee .

None of these do I see as a problem just my take on why some may no longer put in for tags. If I was Maine Fish & Wildlife director for the day what would I do?

• I would set up a third season in December. Land owner only and it would be all unused tags from the two earlier seasons would be reissued and awarded by lottery draw to any land owner that allows public hunting on their land. Zone 5 has 15 unfilled then 15 landowners in zone 5 will get an opportunity to hunt.
• Stop allowing Non Residents from buying as many chances as they want because it is a disincentive to encourage the “average Joe” from putting in.

Well I doubt I’ll be running things anytime soon in Maine but I do look forward to throwing my name back in the hat for a moose tag next year. Good luck to all and I hope some of you good folks get the hunt of a lifetime.

Photos from Homer News

Most of us encounter wildlife in our yard from time to time being it a bird at the feeder, a squirrel or maybe even the occasional deer but imagine a grizzly killing and eating a cow moose in your driveway. That’s what happened to one family in Alaska and they captured it all on video.

“I looked out the window and to my astonishment there were huge chunks of moose hair scattered up the driveway,” Lyon said. “Then I saw these two big animals a mature sow brown bear that had this cow moose in its death grip. They were in the midst of the struggle.”
Lyon woke up his wife and they began taking pictures of what was happening.
“The bear got (the moose) down and kind of dragged it maybe 40, 50 feet from our deck, alongside our boat,” Lyon said.
What he and his wife witnessed next could have been a scene from a bone-chilling fright flick.
“The bear ripped (the moose’s) chest open, ripped out its heart, took the heart out and ate it. It was just like a horror movie,” Lyon said. “All the while it was kind of looking at us and looking at the woods. You could sense it wanted to get out of there. Then it got some or all of the liver, ripped that out and carried it off into the woods.”
The Lyons immediately reported the incident to the Alaska State Troopers. Within short time, Trooper Travis Bordner arrived with Thomas McDonough, assistant area biologist with the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game.

Homer News

The Lyons captured much of this on video and it’s available on You Tube. I’ve include the 3 videos they have uploaded some may find this gruesome but it happens everyday in nature we just don’t often get the chance to witness a bear enjoying a happy meal.

Outdoorsmen across America need to take notice as to what is happening in Maine. I read about this in the Black Bear Blog and just can’t believe that this is happening again so soon. Maine is considered by many a outdoorsman’s paradise but there is a snake by the name of WAM, Wildlife Alliance of Maine that wants to forever change the outdoor culture and tradition of Maine. I’m sure that if they are successful we’ll see similar efforts across the nation. Watch this Anti Trapping ad and tell me if this strikes you as odd?

Does this seem to be more about hunting then trapping? The “hunter” is baiting the bear with donuts and sitting there with a rifle waiting to shoot it. Not trapping in my view. Not to mention the haphazard way the hunter sets up no bear maybe able to resist a donut but no bear is going to just walk in with a hunter acting like this idiot.

The still photo of the bear hanging I’m sure is a game pole shot and not a bear caught in a snare of some sort. Many who are unfamiliar with hunting and trapping may think that image depicts a trapped bear.

Even more disturbing WAM on their website plans to change the view of trapping and hunting by going into the schools and presenting to the children. So much for the values of the families the children come from and the culture and tradition of those who have grown up in Maine.

WAM also wants to set up a section of the state where moose are unhunted and easier to observer and photograph. Silly me I thought that is what Baxter State Park is.

If these Wacos Against Maine culture get their way it will be a dark day across the country not just for Mainer’s. We all need to stand with the outdoor community and defend the use of renewable resources be it a moose, bear, otter, or a tree.

Today two North Carolinians won successful bids to hunt moose in Maine this fall. Every year Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife auction off 5 moose tags to raise money for youth conservation education. This year the Auction Raised $55,976 to be used as camp scholarships for Conservation Camp.

All of the money derived from the auction goes to partial scholarships that will help send Maine youngsters to Conservation Camp at the Maine Conservation School in Bryant Pond and at the Greenland Point Center in Princeton. At these five-day camps, boys and girls ages 10 through 12 take part in an array of outdoor and classroom activities. Students work with experienced instructors and counselors, as well as staff from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and other state and private conservation agencies.

“While the winning hunters get to participate in the hunt of a lifetime, their winning bids also ensure that Maine children will get a chance to learn outdoor skills that will start them on a lifetime appreciation of the of the Maine outdoors,” said Roland D. Martin, Commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The auction was created by the Legislature and began in 1995. It allows the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to publicly auction five moose permits. Funds are specifically directed for youth conservation education programs.

Conservation camp programs are designed to teach Maine boys and girls the importance of conservation, a respect for the environment and a working knowledge of a variety of outdoor skills. Subjects taught at the camp include wildlife identification, introduction to fishing, boating safety, archery, firearms handling, hunter safety, forest conservation, map and compass work and much more.

Maine Today

Carl A. Propst of Oriental, North Carolina & Louis Ogden of Terrell, North Carolina are the two from North Carolina who will be heading north for the hunt of a lifetime. Although I don’t know the two individuals from here I congratulate them and wish them luck as they chase Bullwinkle.
I have another year to sit out because I got drawn in 2005 but I still have a few cuts of moose meat left to throw on the grill this summer.

Stories fly around the net and I’m sure many of you like me get the emails with the killer bears and the latest trophy buck. Well today I got a set of photos that shows a pack of wolves taking down a moose. This is nature and although the photos maybe disturbing to some this is part of the cycle of life.
There is no explanation or story with them so it leads you to your imagination as to the how someone would get such photos.

A little searching I found the story behind these photos taken a year ago Isle Royale. Well worth the read and an amazing story. Check it out and now you can tell your friends the rest of the story when they send you the Wolves vs. moose