Wrangell hunter Mark Galla shows off the rack he'd taken from a moose at Aarons Creek on September 21. He and a friend make the trip down every moose season, and they spotted the 1,000-pound animal after a couple of days of hunting.
Petersburg hunter Derek Knudsen brings part of his moose harvest into town Friday, after shooting it on Mitkof Island.
Hunters still have until tomorrow to get their harvest reports in, but the 2017 moose hunt has already broken the RM038 district record.
As of Tuesday afternoon some 117 animals had been logged by hunters in the Wrangell and Petersburg area. It surpasses the 111 taken last year, and marks the fourth year in a row where the harvest has exceeded 100 moose.
The month-long season started September 15 and wrapped up Sunday. The majority of moose were taken on surrounding islands, with 48 taken on Kupreanof alone, continuing a trend. Other island counts included Mitkof with 13, Wrangell and Kuiu with four each, Zarembo with three, and Woewodski with one, for 73 total.
On the mainland, the Stikine River was the popular spot this year, with hunters harvesting 25 moose from the surrounding area. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Rich Lowell, the figure was better than last year, but still one shy of the long-term annual average. Another eight were picked up in Thomas Bay, as well as eight more in Farragut Bay. The Wrangell mainland saw two more added to the count, and a hunter on the Petersburg mainland also logged one.
Of the moose taken this year, 11 failed to comply with local antler restrictions, just under the typical rate of 10 percent. Those restrictions were relaxed in 2009, allowing hunters to harvest bulls with two brow tines on both antlers. Since that action, Lowell noted that two-by-two tine bulls have made up a large proportion of the annual count, representing 39 percent of this year's harvest recorded so far.
Forty-five mostly younger bulls with spike or forked antlers made up the second largest category this year, around 38 percent of the harvest. Lowell explained they had on average constituted 70 percent of the area's harvest before the 2009 regulation changes.
Moose with three or more brow tines made up 12 percent of the harvest this year, while one bull had a spread of 50 inches or greater.
The numbers for this season are not expected to change too much, but are still considered to be preliminary until Friday's reporting deadline passes. Hunters who have yet to do so are encouraged to turn in their mandatory hunt report as soon as possible, while hunt activities are still fresh in mind. Those who obtained a moose registration permit must submit a hunt report even if they did not hunt. Failure to do so in a timely manner can result in a person being ineligible to participate in next year's hunt.
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