Black Elk

mountains sound you while you are traveling through the trees, with the smell of bitterness and two-stroke fumes fills the air around you. With the ground having a thick blanket of snow, that looks hard but when moved turns to powder. The sight of Elk herds running up ahead, if you are lucky you will catch a glimpse of a mountain lion. We usually go up there for 5 days it takes us just two of those days to get there and back, the car ride usually takes around 10 hours to get to our cabin up…

Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado The reintroduction of the wolf in the early nineties was a highly debated enterprise. Many felt it was only right to return the wolf to it former hunting grounds, especially since mankind was directly responsible for them being eliminated in the first place. There were many though, primarily the cattle ranchers and sheepherders of Wyoming, that feared the return of the wolf and its potential impact on their livelihoods. Yellowstone National Park seemed like…

DNR, said that when you see a dead carcass of a deer that tested positive for CWD, “It looks like a victim that was in Nazi Germany during World War II”. Mrs. Van Bleek also said, “In the most extreme cases of Chronic Wasting Disease, deer will grow black spots on their hide. We (DNR) have only seen the spots on pictures and never actually on a carcass. It is something we are trying to figure out, hopefully sooner rather than later.” However, in most cases it is difficult to tell if an animal…

Hunting is often portrayed purely as a form of sport or the quest for a big trophy. But what most people do not acknowledge is that it does much more for the human population in general. Hunting provides us with the resources that allow us to live comfortably. Not only does it do this, but it provides health to our environment as well as our economy. Hunting large game plays a vital role in the protection of our people, our resources, and the animals themselves. To begin, the killing of large…

1. Shen X, Bourg NA, McShea WJ, Turner BJ. 2016. Long-term effects of white-tailed deer exclusion on the invasion of exotic plants: a case study in a mid-atlantic temperate forest. PLoS ONE. 11(3): 1-16. This article examines the impacts of white-tailed deer browsing on invasive plant species, both of these are biotic stressors that impact many forest ecosystems. Researchers in this study used a 4 hectare deer exclosure built in 1991 to study the influence of white-tailed deer, on the abundance…

As the symbol of the spotted cattle represent the Native Americans that have traditions and adapt to the White culture, the deer is another symbol for just that. The spotted cattle isn’t the only animal that symbolizes something in this novel, “The spotted cattle are not only physical hybrids they are also spiritual hybrids. They have the bodies of livestock but their spiritual essence is deer/antelope, the primary large game animal(s) of the pueblo people for thousands of years” (Sausan, 370).…

White Tail Deer Wildlife plays a very important role in the history of our country, dating back hundreds of centuries to the first civilizations of Native Americans. White-Tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) played a significant part in how the Indians survived; deer supplied the Native Americans with meat (venison), clothing, tools, a source of trade between Europeans, and ceremonial items (Howe, 2011). This being said, if anything were to happen to the population of deer to decline the Indians…

What is important to me What is important to me? Have you ever asked yourself that question? I know I do all the time, between decisions and even just because I want to see what’s more important to me. Hunting is my passion! I love how hunting is important to me, what materials I need to go hunting, and the thrill of when the deer will show up right in front of me. Why is hunting important to me? Hunting in my family is a family tradition for most of the family. Also our family just really…

One day after we left Ash Hollow, we travel by Chimney Rock. It is a huge tower of rock that blocks out the sun. It was magnificent. You could never see something that spectacular in Philadelphia. I keep looking back at the rock, watching it disappear into the distance, the sunlight fading. Fort Laramie is a great place to call home, if you are a trapper. It is just a trapper trading post. Lots of bison furs were transported back to Saint Louis in the twelve hours that we were at the fort.…

climbing up steep ledges; along with the sound of my heart beating like a bass drum. The sound of my heart beat was so loud; I was afraid even deer could hear it from miles away. I had taken a few deep breaths, and the waiting began. Staring into the black forest that surrounded me was frightening. The only thing I…