Muskoka Outdoors

The crew at the MyNature app company have created 2 very handy apps that could help anyone, with a smartphone, to identify the things they see in the wilds of the great outdoors.

Specifically, consider purchasing the MyNature Animal Tracks App and/or the MyNature Tree Guide App. Both applications make it easier for the user to identify tree or animal tracks by prompting for general characteristics and getting more specific after each response. Think of them as ‘techy’ field guides for teachers, outdoor ed instructors, anglers and hunters and outdoor fanatics.

What you might not know is that Kari Murray and I conspired together to pitch the next potential app for the MyNature programmers. Developed with permission from MyNature apps, we hope you get a laugh from the video and consider purchasing their ‘real’ applications. (The Quicktime file is 4 mb)

National Geographic’s newest TV series, Wild Justice, is the kind of show that brings an exciting mix of CSI and Miami Vice to a California wildlife and forest setting. A show that puts poacher’s on notice and documents the adventures of California Game Wardens.

Wild Justice starts in a Wednesday night time slot of 10pm on December 1, 2010. A sneak peak of two back-to-back episodes can be viewed Sunday, November 28 at 9pm.

Wild Justice Nov. 28 at 9PM on National Geographic - Photo: National Geographic

The show exposes the dangers of the warden’s job and the challenges that these heroes of our wild areas endure each day on duty.

The reality of many remote areas, in our countries, is that criminals and poachers outnumber game wardens and law enforcement. Quite often, the wardens are in locations where a quick call for back-up is not possible.

Check out the preview (below) of the upcoming episode titled, Thrill Killer.

In this episode, Warden Brian Boyd and his trainee John Fraley take an unusual approach to catching hunters suspected of trafficking bear gallbladders.

Using real bear paws to mask his tracks and a scent drag to imitate bear presence in the area, Boyd hopes to lure the hunters into a trap that will enable him to catch them red-handed.

Wild Justice (and the web previews I have seen so far) have tweaked my curiosity as a hunter and angler. I am reminded of the importance of following local hunting regulations even when it might be easy for nobody to find out about it.

It’s about integrity.

When a hunter does something illegal in the forest and nobody is around to see it – it is STILL illegal. The terms ‘hunters’ and ‘anglers’ have been tarnished because they are often used interchangeably with the despicable  term of  ’poacher’.

One reason is because of media mis-representation – either intentional or not.

The second, and most important, is that many ex-hunters and anglers have lacked the integrity to harvest fish and wildlife in the ethical and humane manner they deserve. At that moment, when laws are broken and the code is forgotten – they become poachers.

Wild Justice gets a two-thumbs up from me.

Poachers be warned.

Outdoor Canada has recently published their 2010 hunting forecast in a special fall edition of their hunting magazine. Have you read about the hotspots in your province? A summarized version can be found on the Outdoor Canada website.

Game numbers in Ontario are varied. Black bears and moose numbers are on the rise. Deer populations are stable to declining depending on your WMU. Grouse populations are still low when compared to other years. Turkey populations are exploding with great success since their re-introduction in some areas of the province. Read the whole article here.

I also noticed that Ontario Out-Of-Doors has their Ontario hunting forecast published in their excellent magazine. They have a breakdown of game population trends in all Ontario’s WMUs. The details of the article were not listed on the web at this time.

September 7, 2010 marks the bear hunting opener in most parts of Muskoka and Huntsville. For more information about 2010 bear hunting regulations in Ontario, you can download Ontario’s bear hunting regulations here. Hunt safely and remember what lies beyond your target.

To contact the Ontario MNR about hunting concerns or illegal hunting practices contact the MNR’s tip line: 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667)

A Muskoka Black Bear - Photo by Daniel

Over halfway through 2010 and one could argue that bears are trying to destroy their teddy bear image through various bear attacks and snarling close encounters.

For or against, these occurrences have many people talking about the cancellation of Ontario’s spring bear hunt. A lost hunting opportunity that many hunters felt was politically motivated. It was a management tool that developed a healthy fear of man in bears and helped to minimize encounters like those shared in this post. It did NOT mean the end of Ontario’s bears. Nobody wanted that!

Black Bear Photo: HBarrison from Wikipedia

Those against a bear hunt are being ‘treated’ with more bear sightings, bear attacks, property damage  and other close encounters.

Anecdotally, through sources close to Muskoka Outdoors, some Huntsville residents have been having some close encounters.

One man was working outside his house when he came face to face with a bear. After repeated attempts to scare the  bear off, the man went back inside his house, with the bear following, to get his firearm. When the man exited his house with gun in hand – the bear bolted away.

In a second, different encounter, one woman returned back into her kitchen to find a bear in her kitchen. It had come in through a screen door.

Then, there was this past spring.  In less than one month, three separate aggressive bear encounters have been reported in the area of Orillia, ON. One of the attacks was nearly fatal, while the other two were ‘charges’ and acts of aggression.

Listed below are accounts of the encounters from various sources:

1. Mauling victim gives chilling account of bear attack

2. ATV rider charged by black bear

3. Woman on bike chased by black bear near Orillia, ON

Recently, there have been other bear attacks in Canada and internationally:

1. Canadian woman recounts bear attack (Montana)

2. Bear killed after biting man’s arm (Colorado)

3. Port Alberni bear attack sends two to hospital (BC)

4. Yellowstone Bear Attack KILLS Camper, Injures Two

It’s getting more difficult to buy into the ‘rarity’ of hostile bear encounters and attacks. Clean BBQ grills, bear ‘proof’ garbage containers and call lines might fool humans into a sense of safety, but ‘Smokey’ the bear’s identity is lost in the reality of the Canadian rural setting.

Live trapping bears might make sense – until they end up in your back yard or mine. If we are going continue with this tool – I hope those involved are getting DNA samples of the bears that are re-released to make sure they are not repeat offenders. It will also give human victims a means to trace who released a potential risk to back to the wild.

At some point, increasing hunting opportunities, in conjunction with a science-based management plan, will need to be considered to start minimizing risks to humans. It could be a tough pill to swallow for anti-hunting groups.

It is more heart breaking for me to see a human become a causality of the ‘business-end’ of a bear.

West of Spiers’ pond is a ridge of beech trees. They are right in the middle of one of our deer runs. The plan was for me to walk with ‘Bella’ (ye old trusty hound) north around the pond and along the ridge. The goal was to push deer off the ridge and along the pond to strategic points on the north and west sections of the pond.

After a half hour wait in solitude (except for an anxious hunting dog), I started the trek north. Bella, ranged on all sides of me as I walked. Things were looking good.

That was until I reached a stand of Beech trees. Then, things got interesting.

As I pushed through some evergreens and walked into an opening of beech trees I got that someone’s watching me feeling. The dog felt it too because she stopped suddenly and began growling. I pulled my gun up a little closer to my shoulder (though not in a firing position) and waited. That’s when I heard some ‘crashing’ through some evergreens ahead of us. The dog stopped growling and began sniffing the ground again. I eased up on my gun and began to look curiously at the beech trees in front of me.

It was obvious that a bear had just been up it as there were fresh claw marks going up to the top of the tree. I had seen those before in other trees in our hunting area. What I had not seen before were all the leaves around the base of the trees had been pushed away into a ring that surrounded it. Picture a large donut on the ground with this beech tree coming out of the hole in the center. There were other beech trees in the area with the same pile of leaves. Bear tracks were clearly visible in the leaf-free dirt.

Nervously, I began to walk again as I did not want to let the guys down who were waiting across the pond. About 25 yards later, I came across another grouping of beech trees with the same leafy formations. A splash of black grabbed my attention, to my right, as I snapped my gun up to my shoulder. My heartbeat gave away my position.

It was nothing. Just bear shadows.

I didn’t have a tag for those.

This time the dog walked over tight behind me and stood there panting. It was like she had enough of this.

So, I pulled my hunter’s prerogative card and cut west and low to the pond. I got no arguments from Bella. She was already ranging between the swamp grass and the pond’s evergreens.

Over dinner, I explained to the guys what I had seen – leaving out the part about my slight course change. After supper, I stepped outside to visit the outhouse and Bella followed. She had to do her thing. Upon returning to the cabin deck, I reached down to scratch an itch on my ankle and I pulled off a beech nut from my sock.

I threw it out into the darkness. Seconds later, I heard some branches breaking. Bella and I looked at each other and walked back into the light and warmth waiting just behind the cabin door.

The glow of the woodstove kept the bear shadows outside.

*If you have read this before that’s because I have been occasionally reposting some of my favorite posts from when my blog was just starting out. This way, some of my, buried, posts may get read by my newer visitors.