Biologist measures whitetail rut activity

What was the whitetail rut like in your neck of the woods?

That's the question Kip Adams, a wildlife biologist with the Quality Deer Management Association in Pennsylvania, asked hunters across the country recently. The results are in.

According to the 4,557 hunters who responded to Adams' survey, the timing of the rut was about average in many places, but that was in no way an absolute.

"Respondents listed the state they hunted and provided data on the number of rubs and scrapes they saw, the amount of rut activity (chasing, fighting and breeding) they witnessed, and the timing of rut activity relative to past years," Adams said.

Here in the Northeast, including Pennsylvania, 62 percent of hunters said they saw about the same number or more rubs and scrapes as usual. Slightly more than half - 53 percent -- saw less rut activity while 46 percent saw about the same amount or more. Half of hunters reported the timing of the rut was about the same as normal, while 27 percent reported it was late.

Looking at the Midwest, West and Canada, the numbers were very comparable, Adams said. Things were much different in the Southeast, where the rut had not even started by early December.

So what conclusions did Adams draw?

"The bottom line for northern hunters is it was a strange year for some and normal year for most," he said. "Collectively the majority of northern hunters experienced a typical year, but personal messages from numerous survey respondents showed individual seasons ran the gamut from 'no rut sign at all in my area' to 'strongest rut I've ever seen.'"

Busted

Shooting a deer illegally didn't pay off so well for one poacher.

According to Pennsylvania Game Commission conservation officer Beth Fife in Allegheny County, East McKeesport police apprehended the man for shooting a deer two weeks after the season had closed. A day later, police determined the man was a convicted felon who should not have even been in possession of a firearm. That led to a search warrant being filed for his residence.

That's when things went really bad for him.

"We found a shotgun, but we also discovered a whole room of marijuana growing inside the home. So, that search warrant took a little twist we weren't expecting," Fife said.

The man faces drug as well as poaching charges.

Lawsuit

The fight to allow the continued use of lead ammunition has some assistance.

The Center for Biological Diversity asked the Environmental Protection Agency to ban lead ammunition last year, claiming it's harmful to wildlife and humans. The EPA denied that motion.

The Center has since filed a lawsuit appealing that decision. Now, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has filed a motion to intervene and represent the shooting industry.

Article by Bob Frye,
Everybody Adventures, http://www.everybodyadventures.com

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