Iowa DNR Biologist Conversation

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I found a deer in August that died of ehd. I went back today to grab its rack. There was still plenty of stink and flesh and bones. That’s over a month and a half in the same spot.

 

[Mortenson]

I found a deer in August that died of ehd. I went back today to grab its rack. There was still plenty of stink and flesh and bones. That’s over a month and a half in the same spot.

I thought they said nothing eats an ehd carcass. It'll kill the vegetation in a 12' circle.

 

[SwampCat]

I thought they said nothing eats an ehd carcass. It'll kill the vegetation in a 12' circle.

I do remember several folks on this forum saying not much eats ehd killed deer

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I’ve been seeing buzzards all over the ones I’ve been able to find fwiw

 

[hillrunner]

I’ve been seeing buzzards all over the ones I’ve been able to find fwiw

Are they eating them? I've seen buzzards circle and sit in the trees around them but never actually chew on them. The only thing I've seen eat them is maggots.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

On one bucks I was able to locate him by seeing a ton of white buzzard crap on the ground. I could smell him but until I found that I couldn’t see him.
Another was fresh dead and there was nothing on it. I came back a couple hours later and buzzards were on the ground over it. Now whether they were actively eating it I don’t know. I went by the site this weekend and the deer was gone. So something drug it off.

 

[SwampCat]

The one deer I had here ten years ago that had ehd was really poor end of August. We saw him several times - he was not nearly As alert as other deer and we could approach within forty feet of him. Even my wife commented the yotes were going to get him. How they didnt, I have no idea. I almost put him down myself - but he came out of it

More than likely, if you shoot a deer here and leave it until next morning, the yotes will eat it - all of it. We have had a number of deer fed on if we give them an hour before looking.

One of the strangest things I have seen in the woods - buddy of mine arrowed a doe an hour before dark and we couldnt find it that evening. It was cold so we werent worried about spoilage. Next morning, we found it about 100 yards from where we lost it the night before. A clean skeleton. This was mid january. 20 feet from the skeleton were two, foot long fetuses without a tooth mark on them. Yotes moved them away from the doe while consuming the entire doe. I would have thought a yote would have considered a deer fetus a delicacy.

My Mt Cur killed hundreds of coons, possums, squirrels, skunks, cotton rats, wood rats, mice, snakes, and cats. He was death on them. He would eat squirrels and wood rats. But when he would kill a female possum, and sling those small pink babies out during the shaking - he would not touch them

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I think Missouri generally has it right....especially given CWD. Sure, hunters are happier if this topic is simply not brought up, but CWD is a reality that must be understood. Our hunting practices and priorities will have to adapt to protect our sport for the next generation (and the next decade). My fear is that Iowa may lag behind the curve of best practices.

From my perspective, IA is admirable for not taking actions to ruin their age class like their neighbors. The resident hunters of IA are the envy of the midwest for that.

I do appreciate your open perspective in this thread knowing it might not align with the desires of many posters here. Good respectful conversation by all folks for a topic like this with 8 pages!

 

[SwampCat]

From my perspective, IA is admirable for not taking actions to ruin their age class like their neighbors. The resident hunters of IA are the envy of the midwest for that.

I do appreciate your open perspective in this thread knowing it might not align with the desires of many posters here. Good respectful conversation by all folks for a topic like this with 8 pages!

What has Iowa done to in response to cwd besides restrict transport. Any cwd related hunting restrictions?

 

[omicron1792]

The best thing I have learned from this thread, is that most people deer hunt for the same reason I do. To kill a big buck.

I do get tired of the “ filled the freezer” posts people do. Go kill young does and don’t worry at all about the age class of bucks.

Let’s all be honest. We MOSTLy deer hunt to kill a big buck.

Carry on.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

What has Iowa done to in response to cwd besides restrict transport. Any cwd related hunting restrictions?

A lot of people will tell you they issued too many doe tags in much of the state and reduced population too much. They don’t allow bait or minerals.

 

[Brian662]

A lot of people will tell you they issued too many doe tags in much of the state and reduced population too much. They don’t allow bait or minerals.

They do allow bait(and feeding), just can't hunt over it. Many of the TV/YouTube personalities use a corn pile for inventory purposes in the summer. The Lekosky's famously have feeders out on their farms, with a live stream for the sickos.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

They do allow bait(and feeding), just can't hunt over it. Many of the TV/YouTube personalities use a corn pile for inventory purposes in the summer. The Lekosky's famously have feeders out on their farms, with a live stream for the sickos.

Yes, seems to be more of a hunting ethics/quality thing than a disease transmission thing. That said, i bet the amount of bait/feed in use would be multiples higher if it were allowed during hunting season.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Yeah I wish every state would poll their hunters on things like crossbows and see how many actually want them vs how much the lobby pays them.

Dont think it would be pretty in many states (at least for how you or I would like to see it).

The majority of hunters only look at making hunting easier through the lens of their own status quo vs how it changes things when it's also easier for 10's or 100's of thousands of other hunters too unless they come from an area that has always had to judiciously restrict hunters to prevent them from wiping out the wildlife.

 

[swat1018]

The best thing I have learned from this thread, is that most people deer hunt for the same reason I do. To kill a big buck.

I do get tired of the “ filled the freezer” posts people do. Go kill young does and don’t worry at all about the age class of bucks.

Let’s all be honest. We MOSTLy deer hunt to kill a big buck.

Carry on.

I haven't killed a buck since 2019. And, yes, it was a big one. I'm 56 and at the point that I won't kill a buck under 170ish, I already have a house full of heads, and I'm not paying $1000 for another unless it's a booner. I'm just as happy shooting my 5 doe a year. But, I definitely enjoy managing my farm for deer and big bucks. We have never shot sub-140" deer, and we enjoyed watching nice bucks. I don't care if I kill another, but I sure miss seeing them roaming the farm and on camera.