at 29.0% in this district was the highest rate in southern Ontario. As observed 

 last year, calculated success in this district may have been affected by a change in 

 checking station operations and actual success may have been somewhat lower. 

 However, deer camp reports from over 3,000 hunters showed a success rate of 

 47.9% an improvement over the 44.9% tallied in 1964. Hunting effort in terms 

 of man-days per deer taken was 12.1, the lowest recorded since 1960. Fawns 

 represented 32.1% of the harvest pointing to good reproduction in 1965. Excellent 

 survival should have occurred over the past mild winter, setting the scene for good 

 hunting in 1966. 



Hunter success declined slightly in the Kemptville Forest District. This 

 decrease, from 32.5% in 1964 to 27.9% in 1965, cannot be attributed to fewer 

 deer but rather on poorer hunting conditions. A large crop of 1964 fawns and 

 excellent survival of these is evident by the proportion of yearlings in the kill — an 

 extremely high 39%. Prospects for a better season in 1966 are encouraging 

 because of the mild winter just experienced. 



In the Pembroke Forest District organized hunter and Crown land camp 

 successes each declined from 19.4% and 23.5% in 1964 to 16.3% and 21.1% 

 in 1965, respectively, whereas a moderate increase in casual hunter success from 

 12.9% to 16.9% occurred in 1965. Through random "spot-checks" in certain 

 areas of high hunter concentration, District staff were able to sample a larger 

 number of local, casual hunters who are never checked at highway checking 

 stations. Consequently, it was felt the success rate of casual hunters this year 

 reflects their success in the field with greater accuracy. A light snowfall during the 

 first week of the open season provided excellent hunting conditions; however, by 

 November 17th an average of 6.9 inches of snow lay on the ground. Many 

 hunters, discouraged by the heavy snowfall and correspondingly lower tempera- 

 tures, discontinued their hunting. In the Parry Sound Forest District hunter 

 success (at 19.0%) showed similar results to previous rates of 18.3% and 20.2% 

 tallied in 1963 and 1964, respectively. Because several past winters have been 

 mild, losses in the deer herd from starvation and predation have been light. With 

 the deer population increasing in abundance in certain areas the outlook for a 

 better season in 1966 is good. In 1965 deer hunting improved for the fourth 

 consecutive year in the North Bay Forest District. Hunting success rose from 

 15.2% in 1964 to 21.4% in 1965. Snow cover persisting through most of the 

 season was a major factor contributing to a better hunt although an accumulation 

 of ten inches of snow at the beginning of the second week disheartened many 

 hunters. The fact that 22% of the deer killed in this District were taken north of 

 an east- west line through Marten River compared with only 9% in 1964 indicates 

 that whitetails are regaining ground which was lost during the disastrous winters 

 of 1959-60 across the northern fringe of the range. 



The north shore deer hunt in the Sudbury Forest District also improved 

 somewhat over the 1964 season. In the Precambrian Shield section of this District, 

 Lands and Forests staff tallied a 13.8% rate for casual hunters and 18.3% for 

 hunters based at Crown land camps. Compared with Crown land camp success 

 rates in 1963 and 1964, at 15.9% and 14.0%, respectively, this year's improve- 

 ment was welcomed. Of the 3,100 resident and 150 non-resident hunters 

 interviewed at the Little Current Checking station on Manitoulin Island, 28.9% 

 were successful. Because the winter of 1965-66 was mild, deer losses from 

 starvation should be low. A large fawn crop should have been produced this past 

 spring and continued good hunting this fall on the Island is predicted. To the west 

 in the Sault Ste. Marie Forest District hunter success improved substantially from 



30 



