Twenty-four bull moose, including two illegal animals, were harvested by the end of the fall moose hunting season that started on Sept. 15.
The hunt was open for the full season, through Oct. 7, and so far it looks as though the season met the guideline harvest limit of 20-25 animals.
By Tuesday afternoon, 24 moose had been harvested, though area management biologist Hannah Manninen said it was still legal to harvest a moose until essentially sunset on the final day of the season and hunters must report their kills within three days, so more moose could still be reported.
The current tally includes eight spike/fork configuration bulls, nine with three brow tines, and five with a 50” spread or greater.
Those bulls with a spike and forked antler configuration are generally considered to be yearlings. Manninen said they can be a good indicator of recruitment or how many calves are surviving and growing older within the total population.
The last time Fish and Game issued a total
population estimate of Chilkat Valley bulls was in 2023, with an estimate of about 350.
They didn’t fly an aerial survey in 2024 due to the weather but Manninen said they’re hoping to do an updated estimate this year.
Of the two moose that were harvested immediately Manninen said one was mistaken for having a 50-inch rack.
“Another one they shot on a three brow tine and it ended up only being two brow tines,” she said.
Those moose were forfeited to the state, which turned the first over to the Klukwan School and the second to a ceremonial harvest.
Alaska Wildlife Trooper Josh Whitby manages the list of organizations in line to receive forfeited moose. Both Manninen and Whitby were in their first year coordinating a moose hunt in the Chilkat Valley and reported that the season went well.
Both said they got a lot of good feedback from hunters.
“I had some people comment that they were seeing a lot of moose, but not necessarily legal moose,” Manninen said. “We’re seeing them, but they’re not harvestable.”
Another person mentioned to Manninen that they saw a lot of bears, and another that they did not see a lot of calves this season.
Later this fall, Manninen said the state will get more data about the ages of the moose harvested; staff take two teeth from every moose and send them to a lab for age analysis. Then, in the spring, she said biologists try to add to the collared moose population.
Right now, they have just over 40 cows collared and use them to help track reproduction rates and make population estimates for future years.
Manninen said she’d like to hear more from hunters and others spending time outdoors in the Chilkat Valley about what they’re seeing on the landscape. She can be reached at [email protected]