Hunters tag record number of Maine moose in 2013

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.

 

 

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.