Team Effort to Help a Doe in Peru
Recently, a doe was seen with a cable cinched around her waist. There was concern that the cable could continue to tighten and affect her survival so we tried to see if we could intervene.
Signs of Spring
In Maine, March is the perfect time to start taking a moment here and there to notice the changing wildlife sights, sounds, and smells around you.
Life as a Wildlife Biologist: Remote Camp, Finding Ovaries + Checking Moose
When MDIFW Moose Biologist Lee Kantar was organizing the adaptive unit moose hunt, I offered to staff one of the registration stations placed around the western half of Wildlife Management District 4. While discussing this work with my Californian parents, my father, a science teacher, thought that sounded like too much fun– he found a substitute teacher for the week, received his COVID-19 booster shot, and booked a flight to Maine to volunteer with me.
Putting a Pause on Pregnancy
All wildlife have unique adaptations to ensure survival. From changing color with the seasons, flying a 2,500-mile migration, or having bodies that can tolerate freezing, most adaptations are nothing short of astonishing, and these extraordinary characteristics often mean life or death.
Giving Thanks for Maine’s Healthy Wild Turkey Population
There was once a time when the state of Maine lost its wild turkey population. In the 1800s before hunting was regulated, turkeys were hunted to extirpation and the future of wild turkeys looked grim for some time. Beginning in the late 1970s, reintroduction efforts to our state began to take after decades of unsuccessful attempts. With their challenging comeback in both Maine and the United States, there are several reasons to be grateful for our currently healthy and widespread wild turkey population.
Reflections
A few weeks ago, I was on Cape Cod for my niece’s wedding and Jeff and I had a morning free before we had to be at the ceremony. I suggested we visit Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, which was only about 20 mins away. We left the hotel before 7 and happily avoided the typical traffic one encounters on a Saturday in August on the Cape.
It Takes a Village
On the heels of another record-breaking year for piping plovers in Maine, this endangered beach-nesting shorebird had more pairs (125) and fledged chicks (213) on Maine’s beaches since intensive monitoring began in 1981. MDIFW is mandated to preserve, protect, and enhance the inland fisheries and wildlife resources of the state. This can be difficult to attain for a species vulnerable to climate change, sea level rise, predation, and recreating humans and dogs.
The Importance of Regulated Doe Harvest
While you can’t have a deer population without bucks, it is the does (female deer) carrying and raising offspring that drive population growth. Regulated doe harvest is a cornerstone of deer management and is the primary tool used by state deer managers to control or direct deer population growth.
BEE on the Lookout for Rusty Patched Bumble Bees!
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is looking for rusty patched bumble bees and you can help!
Checking in on Peregrine Chicks
The keen eyes of one of the many MDIFW peregrine falcon surveyors, Trish Berube, and the partnership of Chinburg Properties, led to the discovery of a female incubating eggs in a 14-year-old nest box on a historical building in Lewiston. The exact location of this nest box is being kept private at this time to limit disturbance to the young until they fledge early summer.
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