Shed hunting is the pursuit of finding antlers that have been naturally shed by any antler-bearing mammal such as moose, caribou, elk and deer. | Unsplash
Shed hunting is the pursuit of finding antlers that have been naturally shed by any antler-bearing mammal such as moose, caribou, elk and deer. | Unsplash
Shed antler hunters got the ball rolling on the opening of Montana's Wildlife Management Areas on May 15, according to NBC Montana.
Participants set out on foot, on horseback and in pickup trucks as soon as wildlife management areas surrounding Montana opened their gates to the general public. Their goal was to be the first to claim the greatest antlers in the Sun River Game Range, which is located in Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4.
Approximately 20 minutes after the beginning of the hunt, the first successful shed hunters began returning with their loot. Others remained out in the hills for a significant amount of time before returning at the crack of dawn the following day. The Wildlife Management Areas will be accessible to hunters all through the summer and the regular hunting season. Fish, Wildlife and Parks of Montana urges participants to be on the lookout for bears.
According to Bowhunters United, shed antlers are described as follows: "During the winter, bucks lose their antlers in a process known as shedding." Horns, on the other hand, are present at birth and continue to develop throughout life.
The process of deer bucks losing their antlers begins around the end of December and continues through March in most regions. This is caused by a combination of shorter daylight hours and lower testosterone levels. By the middle of March, shed antlers can be found dispersed across wooded regions and fields in the home ranges of bucks, presenting the ultimate "Easter egg hunt" for bowhunters who cherish these exquisite bones.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, "FWP's Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are administered with wildlife and wildlife habitat conservation as the priority. WMAs safeguard significant wildlife habitat that would otherwise be at risk of being lost across the landscape of Montana. The Wildlife Habitat Protection Areas (WHPAs) are likewise protected as wildlife habitat, although these properties are normally much smaller and require less maintenance. These properties can include islands and small land parcels that are isolated from one another. All of these wildlife holdings provide essential habitat for a wide variety of animals, including black bears, bighorn sheep, birds, deer, elk, furbearers, moose, mountain goats, wolves, and a wide variety of other game and nongame species."
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