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History of Large Wildlife Mammals in Minnesota

History of Large Wildlife Mammals in Minnesota. What species of large game mammals have or currently inhabit Minnesota?. White-tailed deer Mule deer Moose Elk Woodland caribou Bison Pronghorn antelope Black bear Gray wolf Bobcat .

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History of Large Wildlife Mammals in Minnesota

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  1. History of Large Wildlife Mammals in Minnesota

  2. What species of large game mammals have or currently inhabit Minnesota? • White-tailed deer • Mule deer • Moose • Elk • Woodland caribou • Bison • Pronghorn antelope • Black bear • Gray wolf • Bobcat

  3. What are the historical features of the white-tailed deer? • North America • Most important big game animal • 30 subspecies • Exist over entire North American Continent • Expanded northward due to logging and other activities of immigrants • 1900: 500,000 • 2000: 30 million

  4. What are the historical features of the white-tailed deer? • Minnesota • Existed primarily in southern Minnesota where food and cover are available • Deer did not originally live in evergreen forest • Forest lands became attractive after cutover and regrowth from forest fires

  5. What are the historical features of the white-tailed deer? • Overpopulation occurred early in 1900’s • Habitat over browsed • Consumed entire food source • 15-20 deer per square mile • 1850-1900 deer marketed commercially • Deer meat sold in markets • St. Paul customers purchased 8-10 cents/pound • 1872: 6 tons shipped to Boston from Litchfield • Unlimited harvest

  6. What are the historical features of the white-tailed deer? • Before 1897, no restrictions and no hunting license required • 1900: Harvest limit 5, license cost $.25 • 1901: limit 3 • 1905: limit 2 and a 21 day season established • 1915: limit 1 • 1920s: bucks only law and alternate year • 1933: every year hunting • Today the population is growing

  7. What are the historical features of the white-tailed deer? • Deer management units established • Present status • Deer over entire state • Hunting season is annual • Approximately 2 million deer exist in Minnesota

  8. What are the historical features of mule deer in Minnesota? • Always present • Live primarily in western United States • Rocky Mountain species most common • No breeding colony currently exist in Minnesota

  9. What are the historical features of moose in Minnesota? • Largest most distinctive mammal • Northern wilderness • A boreal (northern) forest mammal

  10. What are the historical features of moose in Minnesota? • Most common big game mammal before lumberjacks • Food for lumberjacks, early pioneers • Loss of habitat • White tailed deer competition • By 1885 Minnesota moose population scarce • First protection laws 1887 • Current Minnesota population <10,000

  11. What are the historical features of elk in Minnesota? • “White Rump” • Wapiti • American Sioux Indian Name • Native to Minnesota, very abundant

  12. What are the historical features of elk in Minnesota? • Elk disappeared by 1900s • Fenced pastures • Market hunters • Food source • Canine teeth valued • 1932: small Minnesota herd found • Restocking effort • Enclosure of 54 elk (from Jackson Hole, Wyoming) • Superior National Forest (a few released) • Beltrami County herd of 27 (from Itasca State Park)

  13. What are the historical features of woodland caribou in Minnesota? • Common in Northern Minnesota • 1660-1880 reported as abundant • Require large forested, muskegs (acid soil) and bog areas • Two species • Tundra reindeer • Woodland caribou

  14. What are the historical features of woodland caribou in Minnesota? • By 1880s population diminished • Unrestricted hunting • Logging, mining, forest fires • Settlement of land • Last Minnesota caribou sighted in 1940

  15. What are the historical features of woodland caribou in Minnesota? • Lasting hunting season was in 1904 • Reintroduction of caribou to Minnesota in 1938 failed • Last reintroduction attempt: 1970-1980

  16. What are the historical features of bison in Minnesota? • Occupied North America from Appalachians to the Rocky Mountains • 2 species • Plains • Woodland • Fed and provided the Indians well • 75 million existed at one time

  17. What are the historical features of bison in Minnesota? • Decline occurred within 30 years • Due to white settler slaughter • Prairie regions of Minnesota • Supported large herds • Plains bison

  18. What are the historical features of bison in Minnesota? • 1850s bison disappeared from eastern Minnesota • Woodland • 1880 4 animals were found in Twin Valley • Buffalo skulls were used by surveyors plotting SW Minnesota • Section corners – 4 skulls • Half sections – 1 skull • Readily available – early 1870s

  19. What are the historical features of pronghorn antelope in Minnesota? • Original range – western Minnesota • On eastern edge of their range • Never abundant in Minnesota • Last hunting season – 1892 • A native of America

  20. What are the historical features of Black Bear in Minnesota? • Inhabited almost all of Minnesota • Migrated north due to settlers • Black bear most common species

  21. What are the historical features of Black Bear in Minnesota? • Black bear disappeared from agricultural land areas • White Bear Lake, MN • Were considered a nuisance • First laws to protect bear in 1917 were soon repealed • Bounty killing established in 1945 • Bounty killing eliminated in 1965

  22. What are the historical features of Black Bear in Minnesota? • Tourist attraction • 1971: first hunting season established • Separate permit required

  23. What are the historical features of Black Bear in Minnesota? • 1981: 1500 bear harvested • Bear management units established • Most current census has 15,000 Black bear in Minnesota • Nuisance problems beginning again

  24. What are the historical features of Gray Wolf in Minnesota? • Primary predator of deer and moose • Influence on population varies greatly • Consume about 15 adult deer per wolf

  25. What are the historical features of Gray Wolf in Minnesota? • Prey on very young, old, weak, sick prey • Continuously hunting • Deer make easy prey in winter • Located primarily in the Superior National Forest

  26. What are the historical features of Gray Wolf in Minnesota? • Numbers declined from 1849-1965 due to bounty payments • In 1967, wolves were listed on Minnesota endangered species list • In 1975, management programs installed by US Fish and Wildlife Services

  27. What are the historical features of Gray Wolf in Minnesota? • Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team established • Predator control program • 10-30 verified livestock losses • Currently over 3000 wolves in Minnesota

  28. What are the historical features of Bobcat in Minnesota? • Kill deer, but do not seriously affect population • Prefer smaller game mammals • Primarily live in northern forested areas

  29. What are other large wildlife mammals in Minnesota? • Fox • Coyote • Raccoon • Others?

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