Update On Sika Deer On Kodiak Island

According to Stovall and Van Daele, the deer population is back up to 60,000 animals, versus a total of about 20,000 just two years ago. They have both observed lots of young deer, and say up to 25 percent of the does recently surveyed had twins with them. Also, they say the older bucks have increased in antler size due to the reduced competition for quality food. Does this mean hunters will see an increase in the bag limits this season? Not yet. Van Daele says they will be re-evaluating the deer population at the end of the 2002-03 season, and if good weather conditions allow the population to reach its original 70,000 to 80,000 deer again, they anticipate increasing the bag limit for the 2003 season.

In the meantime, it seems things have improved enough for deer hunters to head back to Kodiak again, as witness two very positive reports we recently received on hunts this past season. The first is from Fred Hatcher, who hunted here in Oc........(continued)