Vicariously reliving that first big game kill

I made the statement here a couple of weeks ago that I had not heard of a moose being harvested this season. I submitted the column and the next day, prior to publication, I received a call from a friend telling me about his recent moose hunt with his two nephews. One nephew successfully harvested his first-ever moose. Over the next week, I started hearing about other moose taken this year.

Earlier this week, I spoke with another friend who told me about his oldest son’s hunting success. The young man drew two permits — one for sheep and the other for an any-bull moose hunt. While we talked, “dad” e-mailed me a photo of the full-curl-plus sheep his son harvested in August and another photo of the bull moose harvested earlier this month, a nice, medium-sized animal. I know the bull was his son’s first moose; I’m not sure about the sheep.

Both of these first-time moose harvesters are teenagers who have hunted big game before in Alaska, but had not yet had their own successful moose hunts. They both hunted with either an uncle or father, and they learned the “joys” of dealing with a dead animal the size of a small horse, including packing (if only for a short distance — the father-son team had horses and the uncle-nephew used a boat). Congratulations, guys, and good luck next season!

I enjoyed both moose stories for several reasons. Hearing about a first-time successful harvest is encouraging, especially when the first-timer is a young person learning the how-tos from an elder family member. That reminds me of my own youth and learning about deer hunting from my father.

I also enjoy seeing or hearing about a young person’s initial success in what will hopefully become a lifestyle over time. I cut my teeth on small game and didn’t begin having my own success with larger animals until my early 20s. I have been an avid hunter ever since — not always successful, but definitely enthusiastic.

While we’re talking moose hunting, I recently encountered some discussions involving folks who adamantly dislike either antlerless or calf hunts in certain game management units (GMU) around the state. Personally, I am a strong supporter of such hunts if the management plans and the population estimates and other biological data for the GMU support that management approach.

We hear a lot about managing game populations for sustained yield through intensive management techniques. Many people assume that high moose populations in an area mean high productivity for that population. That is not necessarily so. Large populations put strain on the food supply and the habitat in general. A given an area’s habitat can only support so many moose in healthy condition. Increase the numbers and stress is placed on all the individuals in that population. This stress is manifested over time in reduced cow/calf twinning rates, smaller calves, cows having their first calf at an older age, and over browsing of winter food sources, among others.

To keep the population in a healthy condition, harvesting from all subgroups within that population (bulls, cows and calves) is necessary. Keeping the herd size within the carrying capacity of the habitat protects the food sources from over-browsing and damage and actually increases the productivity of the herd.

I learned a long time ago that to grow a herd of deer, harvest only the bucks and then, not too many of them. Once the herd has almost reached the carrying capacity of the habitat, but is still a little below the upper end of the capacity range, harvest any animal including does and fawns to maintain the health and productivity of the herd. The same principle applies to managing a moose herd.

It sounds contrary to reason to say killing a cow leads to a healthier and more productive moose population, but a healthy cow capable of having twins at an earlier age because of her good health and the habitat’s abundant food supply is more productive that a cow in poor condition having only a single, small, unhealthy calf because of inadequate food resources.

According to Fish and Game, harvest rates of around 2 percent for cows and 4 percent for bulls in a moose population will maintain a stable population and sustainable harvest rates. Lower percentages result in continued herd growth and higher numbers in herd reduction.

Now if I could just draw an antlerless permit.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.