CONCORD, N.H. - About a third of New Hampshire's moose hunters were successful during the first two days of the nine-day season, achieving a 32% success rate on the opening weekend of the hunt. On Saturday and Sunday (October 18 and 19), a total of 41 moose were taken by hunters statewide - 29 bulls and 12 cows. Last year, about 18% of moose hunters were successful during the opening weekend.
The weather was warm and rainy on the opening day of the moose season, but Sunday dawned cold, with a dusting of snow in the North Country. "Cool weather is good for moose hunting, because moose tend to be a little more active when it's cold," said Kristine Rines, who has been the N.H. Fish and Game Department's moose biologist for 28 years.
The largest moose checked in during the opening weekend was a bull with a dressed weight of 810 pounds and an antler spread of 43 inches, taken in Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) D-1 in Bethlehem by Shawn Couture of Phillipston, Mass.
The all-women team of Teresa Shackford of Madison, N.H., and her sub-permittee Heidi Bliss-Libby of West Baldwin, Maine, took a 530-pound bull in WMU C-2.
Another success story from C-2 was a delighted Stanley Magdziarz of Hooksett, N.H., who took a 770-pound bull. Now 78 years old, Magdziarz has been entering the moose hunt lottery since it began in 1988, and this was the first time his name was drawn.
Moose hunter and Fish and Game furbearer biologist Patrick Tate of Hudson, N.H., and his wife were headed out to hunt in Success, N.H., on the first day of the hunt, but stopped to help some young people fix a disabled pickup truck. Two Fish and Game Conservation Officers saw his generous action, and suggested some hunting areas and offered to help with retrieval if they were not involved in a mission. The next morning, Tate, who was the subpermittee on his wife's antlerless-only permit, shot a 630-pound cow about a quarter mile into a timber cut, an area of dense blowdowns. Tate called the COs, who were involved in a rescue. It soon concluded, and before long they were on hand to help Tate drag the moose out with the aid of a four-wheeler. "Had I not stopped to help those people, I never would have encountered the COs!" said Tate.
Kristine Rines reported that, "We are noticing that some of the moose coming in are in good shape, while others are quite thin. Overall, we don't seem to be seeing a lot of ticks on the moose this year. The whole purpose of the mortality study now underway is to determine whether there is something in addition to the ticks that is impacting the state's moose population."
Rines explained that biologists at the moose check stations are also taking blood samples to test for West Nile Virus and EEE, and taking liver and kidney samples to check for the presence of heavy metals, in particular cadmium.
Fish and Game manages New Hampshire's moose population in accordance with density goals
defined in its 2006-2015 moose management plan. This plan seeks to meet regional moose
population goals by balancing and incorporating social, economic, public safety and ecological factors, using the best available science.
New Hampshire's nine-day moose hunt continues through Sunday, October 26, 2014. This year, more than 10,000 people entered the moose hunt lottery for a chance to win one of the 124 permits drawn for the New Hampshire moose hunt. In addition two permits are auctioned off by the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire, and one permit is given to a young person with a serious illness through the "Hunt of a Lifetime" program.
For more about moose hunting in New Hampshire, including a list of check stations, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.
Get into the spirit of the adventure by getting your own limited-edition 2014 New Hampshire moose hunt commemorative shirt at http://www.huntnh.com/mooseshirt.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state's fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.huntnh.com.
CONTACT:
Linda Verville: 603-271-2461
Jane Vachon: 603-271-3211
