19 05, 2014

NC: “Lancetfish” Washes on Beach

2020-06-10T09:22:50-04:00May 19th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

  Just in time to freak out the Memorial Day crowds that pack onto the beaches at Nags Head, heart of  the barrier island where I have vacationed many times, comes this story from WABF. A surfer dude found this weird fish that had washed ashore, and he photographed it. Because of its appearance and its long and very high dorsal fin biologists…believe the fish is a lancetfish... Lancetfish have large mouths and sharp teeth and are typically known to be deepwater fish… Very little is known about the lancetfish's biology… This we do know. With its eel-like body and piranha head and teeth, that is one strange- looking critter. Photo: Leif Rasmussen

9 05, 2014

Rate Your 2013-14 Deer Season

2020-06-10T09:22:50-04:00May 9th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Management, Deer Science, Hunting News, Predator Hunting|12 Comments

The results of QDMA's unscientific poll reveal about what I expected--that in about half the country, the whitetail herds are trending in a negative way. Based on the number of deer and the number of bucks you saw last season, how would you vote? Leave a reply below so we can see if the BIG DEER numbers jibe with QDMA's. I'll comment first. I vote "blue down" because the 2013-14 season was one of my hardest in the last 15 years. I hunted from Canada to Wisconsin to New York to Nebraska, and it was tough everywhere. I even had to push it on two Texas hunts to shoot bucks. It's not supposed to be hard in Texas, but it was for me. In the end I shot some nice bucks, [...]

4 05, 2014

Buck Science: Why Bucks Scrape at Night

2020-06-10T09:23:02-04:00May 4th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

Every research study conducted over the past 20 years has shown that whitetail bucks make and check scrapes mostly at night. We have always naturally figured the deer do it for the safety factor—cover of darkness to avoid pressure—but one of the country’s foremost researchers has a different take. The University of Georgia’s Dr. Karl Miller believes it’s more difficult for bucks to see and sort out other bucks (and does) at night than it is in daylight. So in the dark, bucks are drawn to scrapes--the ultimate scent-posts in late October and November--to keep tabs on and interact with other deer in the area. Miller says that trail camera photos and videos taken at scrapes show bucks sniffing each other’s tarsal glands more [...]

22 04, 2014

Earth Day: The Ecological Argument for Deer Hunting

2020-06-10T09:23:02-04:00April 22nd, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Science, Hunting News|Comments Off on Earth Day: The Ecological Argument for Deer Hunting

On this Earth Day, I point you to a fantastic and enlightening passage written some years ago by two of America’s top deer biologists, Drs. Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller. In the United States roughly 3 million white-tailed deer are harvested each year… This translates to about 150 million pounds of meat. Add to this the amount of elk, turkey, squirrel, rabbit and other game as well as wild fruits, nuts, and vegetables that is consumed. To produce this amount of beef, chicken, or vegetable crops in addition to that which is already produced would be ecologically devastating. Acres and acres of wild places would have to be destroyed to accommodate this increased agricultural production. More wildlife habitat would have [...]

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