northeastern Ontario, there did not appear to be much 

 change from the success during 1967. 



Checking stations at heavily hunted areas continued to 

 show that moose are standing up well to the hunting pres- 

 sure. For example, the harvest of moose on the Black Stur- 

 geon Road, Port Arthur Forest District, from 1963 to 1968 

 has been 265, 254, 265, 228, 208, and 237, respectively, 

 based on a four-week sample for the first three years and 

 two weeks for the last three. There has been no significant 

 decrease in moose numbers on this heavily hunted area or 

 the numbers taken each year would have decreased. 



Additional evidence involves the sex ratios of moose shot. 

 If hunting were affecting the herd, we would expect that 

 each year there would be a lesser proportion of bulls in the 

 kill, simply because hunters had removed so many from the 

 herd. At Black Sturgeon this year, instead of a smaller per- 

 centage of bulls, 75 per cent of the adults killed were males. 

 Similar sex ratios are reported each year across northern 

 Ontario. 



This year, for the first time, we were able to obtain evi- 

 dence that this continual selection for bulls does have some 

 effect on the moose herd. During December, light aircraft 

 were used to find as many moose as possible and classify 

 them as bulls, cows or calves. We chose December for this 

 work because most bulls still have antlers and calves are 

 small enough to be distinguished from older moose. In 

 Fort Frances Forest District, the survey was both inside 

 Quetico Provincial Park, where there has been no hunting 

 for many years, and in a similar type of habitat outside 

 where hunting occurs. Results showed that inside the park, 

 bulls constituted 56.9% of all adults, but outside only 

 41.5%. Similar data were obtained elsewhere, suggesting 

 that our present hunting seasons result in fewer cows being 

 harvested than would be expected. Probably, this small 

 surplus of cows is helpful in maintaining good breeding 

 stocks. 



For the first time in three years, a moose season was 

 opened south of the French and Mattawa rivers. The wait 

 was worthwhile since this was the best moose hunt in the 

 south for many years with over 700 moose taken. About 500 

 were shot in Parry Sound Forest District alone. It appears 

 that this kind of occasional open season is best for this 

 heavily hunted, easily accessible area. 



The issuing of crests in return for moose jaws continued 

 as an unqualified success. There was another 25% increase 

 in the number of jaws received in 1968; the total was over 

 4,000, double the number collected in 1966, the last year 

 before crests were introduced. From these jaws, the ages 

 of the moose are determined. Good reproduction and 

 reasonable harvest rates in most northern districts were 

 demonstrated. 



Prospects for next year are good throughout northern 

 Ontario if the weather is suitable for hunting. A few cool 

 sunny days and crisp clear nights near the first of the season 

 are most desirable. There will not likely be another season 

 in southern Ontario for a year or two. The moose popula- 

 tion continues to hold up well, but the increasing noise and 

 disturbance from more hunters each year is making moose 

 more difficult to find near roads. The wise moose hunter 

 gets back-in. 



BEAR HUNTING 

 AND MANAGEMENT 



Bear Management aims at reducing the wasteful shooting 

 of bears, merely because they are a nuisance, and promoting 

 more positive uses such as sport hunting and observing. It 

 was apparent from the most extraordinary increase in bear 

 licence sales in 1968 that this approach is successful. The 

 sale of non-resident spring bear licences nearly doubled 

 from 4,872 in 1967 to 8,333 in 1968. In addition, resident 

 spring bear licences increased from 964 to 1,142. Since the 

 sale of bear licences was the highest on record in 1967, this 

 doubling of licence sales is indeed striking. 



Obviously, bear hunting is gaining rapidly in popularity. 

 Reports of very high numbers of bears during the previous 

 summer may account for some of this increase. Another 

 important factor is the high success rate which actually 

 improved in 1968 in spite of higher numbers of hunters. In 

 1967, over-all reported success was 41.7%, but in 1968 it 

 increased to 48.3%. This approach to bears, as a natural 

 resource worthy of use, is much to be preferred to the 

 shooting of bears at garbage dumps. 



The northeastern region of Ontario is by far the most 

 favoured for spring bear hunting. In 1968, 71.2% of the 

 1,571 non-residents reporting and 62.1% of the 124 resi- 

 dents reporting hunted in northeastern Ontario. Only 

 25.1% of the non-residents and 16.9% of the residents 

 hunted in northwestern Ontario. It is perhaps surprising that 

 as many as 3.7% of the non-residents and 1.2% of the 

 residents hunted in southern Ontario. 



One of the interesting facts to emerge from our increas- 

 ing knowledge of bear hunting is the very high ratio of 

 adult males to adult females shot by hunters. In 1968, the 

 ratio among adults was 194 adult males per 100 adult 

 females. Since we expect a 1 :1 sex ratio, there may be a 

 strong hunter selection for males. 



The best time for bear hunting is during the last week of 

 May and the first week of )une. Prospects are that bear 

 hunting will continue to be good but, perhaps, due to 



