large areas more difficult of access are hunted extremely lightly. A province-wide 

 census on which statistical tests for accuracy and error were conducted produced 

 an estimated 125,000 moose for the province in 1959. Since then, no significant 

 trends have been noted which would change this estimate to any great degree. 



Ontario's moose herd could produce a harvest several times larger than the 

 present kill of about 13,000 animals. Unfortunately, many of these unharvested 

 animals are located in remote areas with little chance that moose and the hunter, 

 travelling by conventional means, will "get together". On the other hand, certain 

 accessible areas are becoming congested with hunters; hunter success suffers and 

 temporary shortages of moose may occur because of overhunting. These moose 

 are usually replaced by an influx of moose from less accessible areas before the 

 next hunting season, however. 



To relieve hunter congestion and to increase hunting pressure in those large 

 remote areas where present high densities of moose occur, searching for moose 

 from the air, first initiated in 1961, was permitted in two experimental areas in 

 northwestern Ontario last year. Permits to search for moose from the air were 

 taken out by 421 hunters. Although some of the permittees did not hunt, 316 

 moose were taken for a hunter success of 79.4%. The average number of moose 

 seen per hunter was 17. Few, if any, of these moose would have been taken 

 had not the special regulation been in effect. The exi>eriment has been a successful 

 one and two large remote areas which contain high density moose populations 

 and which do not contain land or water routes allowing hunters ready access, 

 will be open to aircraft hunting in 1963. 



Prospects for the 1963 hunting season are bright and particularly so in the 

 northwestern and northern moose management regions. Weather depressed the 

 kill last year in some areas and if normal weather conditions occur during the 

 first part of the season when the major portion of the hunting is done, the prospects 

 for a successful moose hunt are excellent. 



Ruffed Grouse Studies, 1962 



During the summer of 1962, District staffs throughout Ontario doubled their 

 effort in counting the number of ruffed grouse young in each brood sighted during 

 the period from May until September. A total of 1,072 broods were counted in 

 eighteen districts, compared to 576 broods counted in 1961. The increase in 1962 

 was a result of increased efforts placed on this phase of our ruffed grouse studies 

 by the districts. In addition, the increase in numbers might also be a result of 

 a general increase in grouse populations, throughout Ontario. 



Table No. 1 summarizes the brood count by district and by month. The 

 brood counts in May are not significant because there are such a small number 

 but it is worth noting that early broods may generally be smaller in size in the 

 districts of Southern Ontario. In all of the districts, except Parry Sound, Sudbury 

 and Kenora, brood size in June was greater than in June, 1961. In July, brood 

 size was greater in all districts of the province except Parry Sound. In August, 

 however, brood size was greater in all districts, except Gogama, Swastika, Port 

 Arthur, Fort Frances, Kenora, Sioux Lookout in comparison to 1961. 



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