As much as I would like to be out observing the herds of animals we have in the park I am unfortunately in the office writing about them. Not that it is boring. I have learned quite a bit but really I would love to be in the air flying around seeing things.
I spent the last two days writing about the history of the moose and caribou of Katmai. Caribou were first spotted in the park in 1818 by Russian-American Fur Company agents this herd is now called the Mulchatna Herd. By 1860 they were increasing in numbers. By 1880 numbers had decreased so much that the migration had ceased. No, they were hunted to death that is just the way Caribou are. Their populations go up and down. In the 1930s the population had begun to increase then a decade later another decrease. In 1960 they estimated only 1000 caribou..By 1997 there were close to 200,000 caribou. Then the decline started and as of today we are hoping that the decline is over and things are stabilizing so that the herd can grow again.
Hunting is allowed within the herd but the harvest taken from the hunters is less than 3% of the herd. I hear that they are tricky to hunt. you can't call them in like a moose. You basically have to be lucky and find where they are, set up a camp and hope they go by you. I hope someday I can go and find the herd as seeing 30,000 caribou (the size of the herd today) would be awesome.
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