Moose hunters again enjoyed a successful season in 2013, with a record number of participants tagging an animal.
In all, 2,971 of the 4,110 permit-holders shot a moose last year, a 72 percent success rate, according to a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife press release. The 2,971 successful hunters topped the previous record of 2,937, which was set in 2012.
According to the release, Maine is currently conducting its fourth straight year of aerial surveys, which are helping biologists estimate moose abundance and the population composition.
“Maine has a healthy and strong moose population and has the highest density of moose in the lower 48 states,” Maine moose biologist Lee Kantar of the DIF&W said in the release.
Maine began its modern moose hunt in 1980, when a limited number of hunters earned permits through a lottery for an experimental season.
After a year to study the issue, the moose hunt (and permit lottery) returned as an annual event in 1982.