This fall’s moose hunt crept along as rain, wind and warmer weather kept the animals hidden from hunters during the first two weeks of the hunt. Weather improved over the weekend and, as of Wednesday, 11 moose had been checked in to the local Alaska Department of Fish and Game office.
“It’s pretty slow,” said Fish and Game wildlife biologist Carl Koch on Monday. “Lots of guys are saying the weather was lousy. Over the weekend we had three more (moose checked in) and guys were saying they were starting to move around. I’m hoping it will start to pick up. If it keeps going at this pace it will be a low number in the end.”
The hunt closes on Oct. 7, or when the harvest reaches 25.
Koch said a lot of hunters participated the first week of the hunt, but wildlife trooper Colin Nemec told Koch that a lot of people packed up their camp after the slow first week.
“Maybe they only have a week’s vacation and with lousy weather and few animals moving around, it can be tough,” Koch said. “When it’s windy, moose move around less because it’s hard to hear predators coming so they sometimes hunker down.”
Hunter Norm Hughes said he and his partner Bart Henderson shot a moose early in the hunt, despite not seeing many moving around.
“The moose were non-verbal, they weren’t grunting when they walked and they didn’t respond very well to our calls,” Hughes said. “The cows would come and take a look and then walk off.”
Sheri Loomis said her husband Craig has been seeing a lot of cows but not many legal bulls.
“He said he saw like eight or nine cows this morning,” Sheri Loomis said Tuesday. “Who knows what’s going on. I make him pies to take across the river. I think we got the last moose, last year. Sometimes you have to put in the time.”
Tuesday and Wednesday were partly cloudy with cooler temperatures. Heavy rain and wind are forecasted for later in the week.
No illegals have been reported so far, Koch said.