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Latour, P.
and N. MacLean. 1994. An analysis of data returned by outfitted
hunters from the Mackenzie Mountains, NWT, 1979-1990. 41 pp.
ABSTRACT
Data
on big game trophies harvested in the Mackenzie Mountains were recorded
from 1979 to 1990 by each of the eight outfitters operating there,
Wildlife Officers, and by personnel at the various exporting stations in
the NWT. Data recorded were
horn/antler measurements for Dall's sheep, woodland caribou, moose and
mountain goat, raw pelt length for wolves, location of kill, days hunted
for each species, and horn annulations of sheep.
Numbers
of hunters declined during the early to mid-1980s then increased to
levels at, or slightly above, those in the early 1980s.
There was a corresponding decline then increase in the numbers of
big game harvested. A mean
of 221 outfitted hunters hunted in the Mackenzie Mountains each year
with a mean of 31 in each outfitting zone. Outfitted hunters devoted more time in pursuit of Dall's
sheep than they did for either woodland caribou or moose. Trophy size of Dall's sheep and woodland caribou remained
constant during the twelve years, although the mean age of sheep
harvested increased by approximately one year between 1979 and 1987.
Moose trophy size increased slightly during the late 1980s.
The
northern outfitting zones showed a trend toward larger trophies for
Dall's sheep, but the difference between them and the more southerly
outfitting zones was only 2-3 cm of horn length.
These zones also showed a trend toward larger woodland caribou.
Mountain
goats were harvested in only two outfitting zones in the south-central
part of the Mackenzie Mountains. Wolves were harvested in all zones, but two central zones
accounted for the majority. Wolverines
were harvested in small numbers in all zones.
The impacts of hunting on populations of big game in the
Mackenzie Mountains is difficult to assess at this time because of the
paucity of demographic data for each species.
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