IFW hunting news

    In the Moosehead Lake area, deer season has started, but for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) wildlife biologist Scott McLellan, his focus is on moose season as the Greenville headquarters is a tagging station.
    When a hunter brings in a moose to register, McLellan gathers a lot of biological data. “    We are collecting lungs, ovaries, checking lactation, taking a tooth, taking weights and taking blood samples,” said McLellan.

    In some states, winter ticks on moose are a major concern. Maine wildlife biologists count the number of ticks in four different small areas of a moose to determine how prevalent winter ticks are in the area.
    Biologists will also check to see if the moose is lactating, which tells if the moose had a calf this summer, and will preserve the ovaries to examine at a later date in order to help determine rates of calf production.
    A tooth is also taken and later examined to determine the age of the moose, lungs are saved to see if there is lungworm and then finally a blood sample is drawn which will be examined to see if there is any signs of EEE (eastern equine encephalitis).
    Opening day of deer season brought news of a piebald deer taken in the area. While not a true albino, these deer are mostly white, and their coloration is due to a recessive gene.
    McLellan noted that there have been several deer over 200 pounds taken already, and one lucky hunter who came to the tagging station had both a deer and a moose.
    The deer season has started strong in the Penobscot region
    “In the southern part of the region, Corinth and Hudson, they are getting good numbers of deer,” said IFW wildlife biologist Allen Starr, “They are up to 40 in Corinth and 25 in Hudson.”
    Starr has already seen some large deer, including several over 200 pounds. “I’ve seen one that was 218 and another at 245,” said Starr, “there was another from the Katahdin Ironworks area that was 12 points and 232 pounds.”
    “The deer are in really good condition and the necks on these bucks were swollen,” said Starr. “The season started a little later this year and the bucks are already moving.”
    Starr is encouraged by what he has seen. “Numbers are up at all of our tagging stations,” said Starr.