The Petersburg-Wrangell area moose harvest is starting off better than last year. Hunters have killed 17 bulls since the season opened on September 15th. That compares with ten bulls in the first week of the 2011 season.
So far, eleven of this year’s animals were bagged in the Stikine River Drainage. Hunters have also taken two at Farragut Bay on the Mainland, two near Kake on Western Kupreanof Island and another two elsewhere on Kupreanof.
As of Thursday, there had been two illegal moose kills, which means the animals didn’t meet the state’s strict antler requirements.
Last year, hunters brought in 89 moose during the month-long hunt. That was the fifth highest total on record and 8 more than in 2010.
Nearly a thousand people typically register for the central-southeast hunt which is open until mid-October.
Meanwhile, It’s been a successful year for Elk hunters in the archery-only season on Etolin Island near Wrangell. So far, three bow-hunters have successfully shot an elk. That’s the highest annual harvest since the state first initiated a permitted hunt in 2003. The archery-only season is open in September. Rifles can be used in October. Elk are not native to southeast Alaska. The state transplanted them to Etolin in the late 1980’s and they’ve done well since.
