moose at the edge of water and drive them with the hehcopter into deeper water. 

 When they start swimming the machine is lowered so that the animal is "steered" 

 by the two floats under the aircraft. The tagger then leans out on the float, grasps 

 an ear firmly in one hand and applies the tag and streamer with tagging pliers. Such 

 work will yield information which will be most valuable in the management of 

 Ontario's moose herds. 



SPRING BEAR HUNTING 



Increased interest has been shown in Ontario's spring bear hunt, particularly 

 by the non-resident hunter. Residents of the Province do not share this enthusiasm 

 and this is due in part to the absence of the bear hunting "tradition". 



At present, we have no record of the numbers of bear taken in the autumn on 

 resident big game or non-resident game licences. In fall most bears are taken 

 incidently by most hunters in quest of other game. For those whose prime object 

 is a bear hunt, the spring hunt provides the best hunting opportunities. 



The spring bear hunt was first initiated in 1937 and has increased greatly in 

 popularity through the years. For instance non-resident licence sales for 1937, 

 1945, 1955 and 1963 were as follows: 30, 314, 1700 and 1999. Spring bear 

 hunter success of non-residents as reported on return cards was a very high 

 43.6-per-cent and it is evident that there is a bias in reporting by successful hunters. 

 Success, as determined by checks of hunters in the field is much lower, at 28.9-per- 

 cent. Most districts reporting indicated an increase in the numbers of black bear 

 available in 1963. 



UPLAND GAME AND WATERFOWL 



In 1963 the hunting of small game in Ontario increased by a substantial 

 amount, particularly in southern Ontario. In all, 376,800 resident hunting licences 

 were sold in addition to 39,219 groundhog licences and 7,685 non-resident small 

 game licences. The bulk of this hunting took place in southern Ontario near the 

 heavily populated sections. Last year in Ontario there were 135 regulated town- 

 ships and 95 of these occurred in Aylmer District alone. The most pressing problem 

 at hand is not the scarcity of small game but the closure of land by the owners. 

 Most small game hunters sought ruffed grouse, cottontail rabbits, pheasants, varying 

 hare and European hare. 



Pheasants 



The pheasant is a species which is widely hunted particularly in the agricul- 

 tural areas of Aylmer, Hespeler, Simcoe and Lindsay Districts. In 1963 the resident 

 native populations were again supplemented by birds supplied from our two bird 

 farms at Normandale and Codrington. Some of these birds are provided as chicks, 

 which are raised by individual townships or interested individuals for subsequent 

 release, or as poults which are released directly later in the spring. A substantial 

 number of adults also were retained for release immediately prior to the open 

 season or on the pheasant shooting preserves operated by the Department. This is 

 in addition to the many commercial shooting preserves which are now found in the 

 populated areas of southern Ontario and as far north as Sudbury and Sault Ste. 

 Marie. The following table shows the number and age of birds produced by 

 both game farms and the numbers which were allocated to the districts. 



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