Opinions on white tails.

[GoatGuy]

Please read my additional reply. I wasn't suggesting feelings, but I was suggesting the influence of positions held by various groups. But your comment about inventory, does raise the question, if we look at how Grizzlies populations are studied using relatively random bait sites and hair samples - comparatively, if you have 10 guys, running 10 cameras each in the same location/bait site each year over a 5 year period. That information is more than an opinion of say a whitetail population. It can be quantified in a valid observation. Whether its wolves, moose, elk or deer, cameras do provide information. And Government could be considering that as an asset. I understand there is much to be thought about, this is just out of the box contributory thinking, if it were formalized, we could feel like we're working together..

Camera trapping does work and we actually have a project on the go in BC, more to follow, but there is a science to it and you need a number of cameras to do it properly.

So far as DNA mark-recap for grizzly bears and 10 trail cameras, there is a huge difference. Taking hair for mit dna analysis is world's apart from putting trail cameras out and baiting them.

Agree that mule deer are most vulnerable with poor habitat and they do suffer predation more readily than most. I understand from knowing the WK biologist years ago, the wt removal was the plan to save the caribou. Never agreed with it. I understand the logic. But it tends to move in a direction that takes hunters out of the equation and if science means hunters are not a valued part of finding balance, I think that's a slippery slope. (his active opinion was he didn't need hunters to manage wildlife by science).

We never did do wt management for caribou. But there is plenty of data to support it, as they were finding wt right up into the alpine in the summer and cougars go right up there behind them.

Agree on your points.

We do know that you can't tell the age of mature ungulate with a tooth. Right. Ask a dentist. I keep asking them, they all say the same thing. You can tell looking in their mouth, at their gums and the plaque, but there are no rings on a tooth to determine age once it is an adult. It would be submission of an object to quantify harvests. I'd rather have a submit the heart project.... just kidding..

We can get a very good idea - it's actually fairly accurate and would give a good trend.

There is a significant difference in people's diets, deer don't really have that choice. Compares people's wear patterns with wildlife is apples/oranges.

Totally low density. I think most R4 hunters have simply accepted moose are a novelty. it's been so long since a viable population really presented any opportunity. Agree, still a long ways to go. But I am buying a moose tag the past 3 years.

[LBM]

Camera trapping does work and we actually have a project on the go in BC, more to follow, but there is a science to it and you need a number of cameras to do it properly.

So far as DNA mark-recap for grizzly bears and 10 trail cameras, there is a huge difference. Taking hair for mit dna analysis is world's apart from putting trail cameras out and baiting them.



We never did do wt management for caribou. But there is plenty of data to support it, as they were finding wt right up into the alpine in the summer and cougars go right up there behind them.

Agree on your points.



We can get a very good idea - it's actually fairly accurate and would give a good trend.

There is a significant difference in people's diets, deer don't really have that choice. Compares people's wear patterns with wildlife is apples/oranges.

So who is this we you always talk about, you are involved in all these studys.
It seems apparent to me you don't like cougars are have been seeming to be trying to blame them for declines in other animal populations.
so could you post the studys that have been done on cougars in the EK in the last 15 years.
Whitetails heading up high has been going on for years so nothing new there.
How many whitetails are collared in this study, how many cougars followed them up there, and how many whitetails did they kill while there.
How do you no they followed the whitetails up there. Some of the Data showing on collared cats heading south and crossing the boarder what
were they following?
Thanks