After being protected under the Endangered Species Act from 1992-2016, the Louisiana black bear population has recovered to the point where this year the state will hold its first bear hunt since 1987. (Photo courtesy of Clint Turnage, USDA)
October 31, 2024
By Dr. Dave Samuel
As archery hunting seasons continue across the country, there is certainly no shortage of news of interest to sportsmen. From Louisiana, where the state will hold its first black bear hunt in nearly four decades, to Idaho, where moose are being impacted by a parasitic worm, here’s a look at some of the most interesting stories regarding our wildlife and conservation efforts.
Louisiana Holding First Bear Hunt Since ’87 After being on the Endangered Species List for nearly 30 years, the Louisiana black bear has rebounded to the point where the state will offer a limited hunt for the animal later this year.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission earlier this year voted to support a bear season that will run Dec. 7-22. The hunt, which will award 10 permits to residents via a lottery, will take place in the Tensas River Basin, an area in the northeastern part of the state that has a rapidly expanding bear population. And, among the legal methods of take permitted will be archery gear.
Black bears were listed as a threatened species in Louisiana starting in 1992, and the recovery program implemented in the Bayou State led to improved bruin numbers over the years, allowing the bears to be removed from the list in 2016. Although anti-hunters tried to stop the delisting, Safari Club International twice had anti-hunting lawsuits dismissed.
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A legislative bill re-establishing and supporting the black bear season was signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry on June 18.
Catalina Island Deer Cull Plan Shelved Mule deer have been on Catalina Island off the California coast for many years and now number around 1,800 animals. Although plentiful, they’re not native to the island, and the Catalina Island Conservancy that manages most of the island said they’re decimating the vegetation and need to be eradicated.
There is currently a mule-deer hunting season, where hunters from the California mainland can get permits to hunt the island. They take around 250 deer a year, but the Conservancy and the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife say that isn’t enough.
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The Conservancy had planned to hire a private company to shoot the deer from helicopters, but many citizens who live on the island, as well as hunters, opposed this plan. Of course, the Humane Society of the United States was also against it.
After the proposed deer cull caused an outcry, the DFW stated that it hadn’t given final approval for the cull. Something had to give, so on May 30 the Conservancy announced it was canceling this year’s cull and was reworking its plans for how to lower deer numbers. It will be interesting to see the ideas they develop going forward, but you can be sure that more legal hunting will be part of the proposal.
Moose Dying in Northwest Moose have been declining in North America, and the reasons are many. Now, another disease has been found to impact moose numbers in Idaho.
A research project done by Washington State University and funded by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has found that many Shiras moose in the southeastern part of Idaho had large roundworms living in their carotid arteries, feeding on blood to the brain. They noted the brains also had many microfilariae, which are the worms’ microscopic offspring, and these microfilariae are leaving lesions in the brain that affect moose behavior. This condition can lead to blindness, abnormal behavior, damage to the ears and even death.
Researchers looked at various regions of the state and only found roundworms in the southeast, where mule deer are most abundant. This made sense, because mule deer are the natural host for the worms. Montana moose have also been impacted, especially in the northwestern part of the state where there are abundant mule deer.
Overall, researchers examined 61 deceased Shiras moose in Idaho, with none from the northern part of the state having roundworms. However, 10 of the 20 adult moose taken from southeastern Idaho were infected. Nine had roundworms in the carotid arteries and microfilariae in the brain. Microfilariae were also found in other tissues of the head, including the eyes and tongue, as well as the lungs, heart, liver and kidneys. Three of the 10 infected moose had cropped ears, and four exhibited abnormal behavior, probably caused by the microfilariae in the brain. The researchers suspect that since infected moose are not healthy, their death via predation is also enhanced by brain lesions.
This research may not provide any answers on how to stop this infection of moose, but along with research done in Montana, it will give biologists more information about the disease. The hope is that as research grows and evolves, it will eventually lead to a solution to the problem.
Use Trophy Mounts for Education A few months ago, a good bowhunting friend of mine from another state passed away. This summer, his wife called to ask me what she could do with his animal mounts. My friend had mounted most of the bigger animals he'd taken with a bow and kept them in his den.
I suspect a good number of us have mounts in a wildlife room, office or den, since mounts of our bow kills serve as reminders of our time afield. However, unless we handle removing them from our homes, once we're gone our wife or kids are stuck with that responsibility.
I told my friend’s wife that selling them, even if legal, wouldn’t bring much money, but no matter what she decided to do, she should check into what was legal in her state. State regulations on selling mounted trophies vary greatly, but there is a website, estatesales.org, that has a summary of regulations for every state. One problem with that list, however, is that it is hard to keep it current, so contacting your state wildlife office to find out how to deal with wildlife mounts is the best option.
I will say that the best practice is for bowhunters to take care of the wildlife-mount “problem” while they are alive. Years ago, I survived a near-death hospital stay. Once home, I realized my many shoulder mounts and few pedestal mounts would burden my wife when I passed. As a wildlife educator, I felt that others could appreciate theses mounts, but the question was where to put them?
Finding a suitable location that was interested in having the mounts and displaying them in a way that viewers would gain a better appreciation of the values of bowhunting was a problem. In my case, I looked around and discovered West Virginia University might house them. After dialogue with officials, I donated 40 of my mounts, creating an educational exhibit at the Westvaco Conference Center located nine miles from the campus. Conference center visitors, many of them non-hunters, enjoy learning about the various species, as well as bowhunting. So far, there have been many positive comments, but no anti-hunting comments, on the display submitted to WVU.
In another instance, my friend Bob DeLaney donated his mounts to Stonewall Resort and Hotel in West Virginia. The manager was a bowhunter and wanted to have an exhibit for people staying at his hotel. The resort has a great golf course, fishing on Stonewall Reservoir and now an exhibit where hotel visitors can learn about the value of bowhunting.
The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources supported the effort and now thousands of tourists benefit from the exposure to Bob’s animals. It takes some personal effort and expense to establish a wildlife exhibit, but it will be there for decades after you're gone.
