Calvert County’s efforts to “thin the herd” appear to be working, if state deer harvest numbers are any indication.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released statewide deer harvest figures for the 2013-2014 deer hunting season, which was held from Sept. 6 through Jan. 31.
“Our deer harvest rebounded to levels closer to what they were before last year’s significant decline,” stated Brian Eyler, DNR deer project leader. Eyler attributed the spike to more hunters, better weather conditions and deer actively searching for acorns.
Statewide, 95,863 deer were harvested by archery, muzzleloader and firearm hunters.
In Calvert, 752 antlered deer were harvested, an increase of nearly 35 percent from the previous season. A total of 1,689 antlerless deer were harvested, an increase of slightly over 43 percent. Overall, Calvert had a 40.4 percent increase in its deer harvest, one of the biggest increases in the state.
The neighboring counties of Charles and St. Mary’s also experienced big harvest increases compared with the previous season, 25.1 percent and 34.3 percent respectively.
In total, 10,544 deer were reportedly harvest in the three Southern Maryland counties.
The Maryland jurisdiction with the highest total of deer harvested was Frederick County at 8,040.
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