Chasing Studs at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park
Argh! Hunting deer has its hazards. Click Click! Click! A striking Whitetailed Stag has just crossed an open ravine at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. There is nothing like a chase on the cusp of the winter solstice and this time I am ready. Meeting a truck stuffed with obvious “boundary hunters” all frocked up in “camo” on my way in to the park made me grimace. You know the type. They linger on the edge of wildlife reserves hoping for a wandering soul in the form of a trophy rack. There are plenty of them (racks, not gun toters) at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park and the word has spread to the hunters. Luckily shortly after dawn they return to their day jobs, and, most mornings, there aren’t many other people to share this late fall treasure with.
I check my togs. Note to self, wear slippery outerwear when chasing deer; hit by the raspy Hounds Tongue, how can something so exotic be a scourge of prairie parks, it licks and sticks like none other with our favourite pet’s tongue like qualities. Have almost the same distaste for Hounds Tongue as for boundary hunters; they get under your skin.
http://www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-HoundsTongue.pdf
The male whitetails will disperse soon after the solstice, racks not seconded by the hunters will fall, females (does) will smile and the hunt will dissipate for another season. There is a lot to be said for satisfying a plan, capturing Whitetailed bucks in their environment. Clambering up the hill with trophies in the box, I have a feeling there is more to this story.
For more on Deer and Moose, see also:
https://www.heathersimonds.com/blog/life-in-the-woods-with-deer-and-moose
