The Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed the Unit 1D moose hunt at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday night after hunter harvest reports totaled 25 bulls, the limit of its harvest objective.
The harvest numbers are now up to 27, but area management biologist Carl Koch said he doesn’t expect more reports.
Lyndsey Hura took home one of those moose. It was the first moose she’s harvested after seven years of hunting for moose in Haines.
She and her hunting partner, father Larry Hura, stayed in a cabin and set up a tree stand in an area above where the Kelsall River flows into the Chilkat River. On opening day, they witnessed two small bulls sparring. Then a larger moose surprised them, and sprang out from the brush.
“Then all of the sudden a bear had come out and crossed in the tall grass and went shooting off across the creek,” Lyndsey Hura said. “We had Discovery Channel going on out there.”
After 11 days they spotted 14 small bulls but not one legal moose. They decided to pack up camp and head into town for a shower. When they got to their tree stand to grab a chair, they decided to make one last call.
A small bull showed up 15 minutes later, followed by a legal bull.
Lyndsey Hura took the shot.
“It was unbelievable,” she said. “I still have a hard time believing it actually happened because I was waiting so long. It’s a really awesome feeling when you take down an animal that big, that gives its life to feed your family. I was raised to believe that one of the first things you do after you shoot an animal is say a prayer thanking it for feeding your family. That’s the first thing I did was say ‘Thank you.’”
Her hunting partner was proud, too.
“I got a big hug afterwards,” Lyndsey Hura said.
She harvested her moose on Sept. 26.
Fish and Game announced the emergency hunt closure Monday due to concerns of continued low counts of spike or forked bulls in the harvest and because Fish and Game’s management objective has been met.
Koch said those low counts could indicate a low number of yearling bulls, a future breeding population Fish and Game wants to protect.
“They’re capable of breeding when they’re a yearling, but it’s rare for that to happen because bigger bulls keep them away from the cows,” Koch said.
Moose harvested this year include two spike fork, 18 three brow tines, four 50-inch antler spread and three sub-legal.
Fourteen of the bulls were taken during the first few days of the hunt, which opened Sept. 15 during a weekend with nice weather.
Last year the hunt was closed after only eight days. The hunt is normally scheduled to end Oct. 7.
Koch said calf survival is unknown in the Chilkat Valley, however the proportion of calves observed during surveys from 2014 to 2016 has been between 8 to 14 percent.