Invaders from the North

Usually the word Invaders is surrounded by negative connotations. For this blog though, that is not the case. If you read the Leaderpost at all you may have noticed a story on this a couple of months back, if not, I have great news for you. When I was a child, I believed the Elk and Moose species to be almost mythical creatures of great treasure. They were animals of the uninhabited North country or of the great Rocky mountains. Historically though, this was not the case. Moose and Elk once roamed all of Saskatchewan, but during a time when rural inhabitants shot much of their own meat, their numbers dwindled. In 1930 Elk hunting had to actually be closed in Saskatchewan so that they would not become extirpated. It seems now however that Moose and Elk are not the mythical creatures I once imagined them to be. They are now making a comeback in southern Saskatchewan.

My friend Brett was hunting south of Moose Jaw this Saturday right near the border when he saw 12 Elk! Then Sunday me and Brett went hunting just a half hour or so East of Regina where we were greeted with the presence of a large cow Moose. The large female was a magical sight in the frosty early morning. Standing by a scattered hay pile, everytime she breathed a cloud of moisture engulfed her head. She stood broadside to us about a hundred and fifty yards away for a couple minutes before she continued on with her journey. Hopefully her belly is just getting started on some baby moose for next spring.

This is excellent news to hunters. Because of the Ministry of Environment's conservation efforts to increase the Moose and Elk populations throughout Saskatchewan, us Reginians may one day be able to hunt Moose right out our back door. Wouldn't that be something.

For the full LeaderPost article- http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/Moose+making+move/2080289/story.html