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Colorado Hunters Kill Fewer Elk in 2007 |
The number of elk killed by hunters dropped by
about 8,000 last year compared to 2006, the Colorado Division of
Wildlife has announced.
On the other hand, hunters killed the highest number of deer in a decade in 2007, the wildlife division said.
For
all 2007 big game seasons, hunters killed 49,012 elk. That was the
first time since 1999 that the "harvest" fell below 50,000, the
wildlife division report.
There were 227,262 elk hunters in the
state last year. They had a success rate of 22 percent. The number of
elk taken in the first and second rifle seasons was consistent with the
average. Kills were down in the third and fourth rifle seasons,
probably because the weather was so mild and elk were more
inaccessible, according to wildlife experts.
"Another factor
that may have decreased the harvest is the state's elk population
numbers," the wildlife division said in a statement. The DOW dropped
the number of 2007 limited elk licenses by 5,000 because elk numbers
approached objective in some traditionally high harvest areas.
There
were also 10,000 fewer elk hunters in the field during the 2007
seasons. Some of the decrease was due to fewer limited licenses being
available, but weather and economic conditions also played a role, the
wildlife division said.
Deer hunters in Colorado harvested the
highest number of deer since 1997 with 98,283 hunters killing 45,026
deer for a 46 percent success rate in 2007. Deer license numbers were
the highest since 1999.
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