January "Hunting"

Hi Reader,

Thanks for returning to Deer Quest to check in on how my quest for my first venison is going. Well, hunting season (for deer) is over. While most people take a break until next season I am on a mission: a mission to find a buck. I think now is the perfect time to look. Why? Because if a big buck is alive now and doesn't get hit by a car or eaten by 'yotes he should be back next year.

I haven't posted in a few days on account of the "bomb cyclone or 2018." I've never heard of a bomb cyclone and I grew up here in Massachusetts but apparently it's a thing. It was cold and still is: -5f to 10f daily for a week. Today wasn't any warmer but I had to get out and do something. I went to some public land that is "permission only" for hunting. Recently this organization has been granting hunting permission but it's for only a few people a year. There's a proficiency test and they mostly want experienced hunters. This will be hard for me but I want to see if I can spot a buck out there anyway.

I was shocked with the number of deer tracks in the snow. It could be just one deer walking over it's own track but the snow is pretty recent. I don't know how to tell the difference between buck and doe prints yet but I did see some very large prints which I'm assuming would be buck prints. Again, not sure.

As I trekked through the forest near the Charles River I spotted some coyote tracks on the river. Then more tracks, then many tracks. They were coming quickly from all directions onto the river and coming fast based on the slipping and sliding of the prints near the edge of the river.

All the tracks converged in one spot where the snow was frantically pushed away, exposing the frozen Charles River. On the way in I found a portion of a leg, then this gruesome discovery- a smaller deer carcass, completely consumed.

It seems sad - I've always felt sympathy for animals and loved observing them since I was small. This is becoming more common here in Massachusetts as Coyotes have mixed with wolves and even domestic dogs. These new "coy wolves" are bigger and smarter than coyotes. Click though to read about coy wolves taking over: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/coywolves-are-taking-over-eastern-north-america-180957141/ 

Deer carcass found on the Charles River

It's funny there's more deer now in North America than when Columbus first discovered it. Settlers came and big game was scarce. The land was dangerous, too. Bears, wolves, big cats and more would pick off humans and cattle. What would you do if you lived in a land of killer cats? Would you let your kids go on a hike?  They eliminated the big cats and wolves and bears.   They cut down all of the trees to farm. Deer had nowhere to hide in these big fields - there was no cover. People were poor and meat was expensive: people hunted to eat.

Today these farm fields have grown into forests. People have stopped hunting - meat is cheap and the "steak" which was once special is now cheap enough to eat three times a week. With residential development there are no natural predators of deer and we've created the perfect environment: open space, cover, food, water, and it's all connected by networks of electric wires and railroad tracks.

What some people are finding is that the deer population is exploding and there is no practical way to control it. Some regions just have a deer slaughter where they hire a company to come in and kill dozens of deer. This is wasteful, cruel, and costs the taxpayers money.  The large excess of deer have attracted these coyotes and coy wolves into the area which are now a nuisance to farmers and those with pets (and children).

I'm not sure where I'm going with this rambling except to acknowledge that the natural world is rough. All wild animals live in a struggle of life and death and until recently so did humans. I have a game camera set up at the end of January I'll pull it and post the photos.

I guess the point of this post is even though you can't hunt until the fall: "What did you do this week to increase you're chances of scoring a great buck?" Some things you could be doing: Practicing shooting skills. Getting permissions to hunt land. Researching public land. Scouting sites, snow trucks are great! I'll continue to scout and hopefully stumble over some big tracks. I'll be back with news soon enough.