They glistened like hidden treasures awaiting discovery.
Lying in the bottom of a coulee, they beckoned to be released them from their fate, which, granted would probably have provided food and nourishment for a happy rodent.
The sheds were precious, they begged to be appreciated because, given their size, they probably were this bull’s most valuable set of antlers. They meant he survived his first winter on the North Dakota prairie.
That little set of moose sheds now lay nestled on an end table. Perhaps that’s an indication they’re not exactly the biggest moose antlers when they fit neatly on a piece of furniture. That’s OK; they’re a matched set of antlers, shed side-by-side by a bull moose.
That’s what makes shed hunting such an amazing activity.
Well, that and other things.
Things like being able to get outside after winter breaks, getting exercise, and watching spring eek its release from winter’s grasp.
It’s taking the dogs along so they get exercise, hoping they don’t find too much mud and icky things to roll in on their own personal treasure hunt.
It’s the opportunity to marvel at creatures that each year grow and shed antlers. Think about the energy and nutrients needed for a bull moose or elk to grow antlers of any size in a matter of a few months. Even growing those little sheds on that table put demands on that young bull. It’s not a minor feat for deer to grow antlers, either.
There is an art to shed hunting. It involves knowing and understanding deer, elk, and moose movements in winter; knowing what to look for – things like game trails or perhaps across from a fence should antlers pop off as a deer lands, for example.
Yet there can – and sadly, is – a deep, dark, disgusting side to shed hunting.
While the true art of shed hunting is doing it properly, appreciating nature and wildlife, there are those who drag shed hunting into an ugly pit.
This year wildlife across many areas of North Dakota came into winter in less than ideal health condition. The state’s drought often meant less available nutrition for creatures dependent on Mother Nature for their grocery store. Add an epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreak in areas where it’s never been documented, and those survivors joined an already stressed group of wildlife.
Some shed hunters show no regard to the stress cold temperatures and snow place on all animals as they struggle to move through snowdrifts, scratch and paw ice-crusted snow for food, and are pushed from valuable winter shelter providing much needed thermal cover in brutally cold temperatures and wind.
Perhaps worst of all are those who scout areas where deer and elk congregate, even pushing animals so they can be present when antlers drop.
All those people are looking for are the dollars attached to a detached antler.
There is a reason the Wyoming Game and Fish Department closed some Hunter Management Areas (HMA) to all public access in the winter. Similar to N.D. Game and Fish Department Wildlife Management Areas, several Wyoming HMAs play a critical role in providing essential big game wintering habitat.
Those vital areas congregate wildlife where they can survive a Wyoming winter. But they also drew countless shed hunters, innocent and unscrupulous alike, pushing some wildlife to the brink of death and beyond.
While North Dakota’s Wildlife Management Areas still allow public access in the winter, activities such as snowmobiling and things that could harass and push wildlife are illegal.
Other public lands are closed to the taking of sheds any time of year, including all U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands, whether it’s a National Wildlife Refuges or Waterfowl Production Area. Find out what is and isn’t allowed on other public land, including shed hunting – U.S. Forest Service National Grasslands, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land along Lake Sakakawea and Lake Audubon, or Bureau of Reclamation areas, for example.
It’s true shed hunting can be a great spring activity and a chance to reconnect with nature.
But it’s equally true the dark side of shed hunting is all too common – and can be deadly for wildlife whether it has antlers or not.
