Ask Colorado’s wildlife biologists to forecast the upcoming big-game hunting seasons and all seem to agree on the math: lots of animals plus summer moisture and good forage plus lots of hunting opportunities add up to good big-game seasons this fall.
And the deer and elk, what kind of shape are they in?
“Very good,” Stephanie Duckett, Division of Wildlife terrestrial biologist in Grand Junction, said. “This summer has had good moisture so the forage is plentiful and of good quality, and animals should be in excellent condition.”
Going into the fall hunt, biologists put Colorado’s elk population at 280,000-plus. “We’re not `elk poor’,” said DOW Big Game Analyst Mary Lloyd. No, indeed — Colorado’s elk herd is the largest in North America. Statewide, the herd averages 24 bulls per 100 cows.
The state’s deer herds are estimated at more than 466,000 and have generally been regarded as being “back” for the last several years. In fact, deer herds may be even better than they were back in the day.
