Rut the moose is on the move 🌲

I love this time of year. It doesn't get better than chasing whitetails and offending my family at the dinner table while a bunch of grown men chase a pigskin around on the TV in the background.

All joking aside, we've got plenty to be thankful for. I am incredibly thankful for all of you who check in here a couple times of week to read this newsletter. 

So, because we all likely have to hit the store 'one last time', go ahead and grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's this Thanksgiving dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week...

• The Rutster - Rut the moose is making his way across Minnesota 🫎

• Successful season- All four of Wisconsin's elk hunters tagged out 🏷️

• No turkey this year, fam - Kansas kills the turkey hunt 🦃

• Who's drivin'?- Colorado officials release bear trapped in car 🚗

• Where the deer at? - Wisconsin's opening weekend a bust 🫤

Thanks again and tell your friends.

- Ryan

ON THE LOOSE
RUT THE MOOSE ATTRACTS THRONGS OF FANS AS HE HEADS ACROSS MINNESOTA

A herd of followers are tracking a moose on the loose in southern Minnesota, hoping the majestic animal's journey ends safely after it was spotted Tuesday 140 miles (225 km) northwest of Minneapolis.

Fans have been tracking the young male moose for weeks and posting updates on a Facebook page that as of Tuesday had more than 18,000 followers.

Admirers call the animal “Bullwinkle” or “Rutt,” the latter in homage to a scatterbrained moose from the movie “Brother Bear.”

A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources big game expert told the Minnesota Star Tribune that moose typically only roam in northern Minnesota, making the now-famous moose's visit to south and central Minnesota a rare treat. Todd Froberg, the agency's big game program coordinator, said the young moose is likely looking for home territory or other moose and is expected to continue moving north.

“He’s lost, and he’s trying to get home to his family,” said Bernie Stang, a moose fan who spotted the animal in late October.

Amateur moose-tracker Brenda Johnson said traffic on the Facebook page, of which she is the administrator, picked up in September when the moose was spotted in Iowa near the border of Minnesota.

She suspects Rutt traveled from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa before coming back to Minnesota, based on news reports of moose sightings in South Dakota that match his description

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🏷️ 6th season a success: All four of Wisconsin's elk hunters filled their tags.

🗑️ Not trash: Bull elk shot, decapitated and left to rot at dumpsite.

🦃 No turkey for you: Kansas shuts down turkey hunting this year.

🧢 Dashing through the snow: Utah DWR is hosting sleigh rides through herds of elk this holiday season.

🫎 Troubled moose: New England moose are dying at an alarming rate.

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🏃‍♂️ Like Indiana Jones: Couple recounts getting chased inside their cabin by an elk.

⚪️ Why did the albino buck cross the road?: Rare sighting in Iowa.

🚗 That won't buff out: Colorado officials release bear that was trapped inside vehicle.

SCARY STUFF
16% DROP IN DEER KILLS DURING WISCONSIN'S OPENING WEEKEND

A lack of snow and warm temperatures that suppressed deer movement led to a lackluster opening weekend of Wisconsin’s nine-day gun season, with hunters killing thousands fewer deer than last year.

The state Department of Natural Resources released preliminary data Tuesday that showed hunters registered 92,050 deer compared with 103,623 deer last year. That’s a 16% drop-off from 2022 and 10% fewer deer than the five-year average for opening weekend. Hunters also registered 51,870 bucks, down 13% from 56,638 over opening weekend in 2022.

The number of potential hunters didn’t vary much from last year, however. The DNR reported that sales of all deer licenses stood at 774,369 as of midnight Sunday, with 421,525 of those licenses exclusively for gun use. Overall, sales of all deer licenses were down 0.61% from the same time last year.

The DNR’s deer specialist, Jeff Pritzl, speculated during a news conference that the lack of snow across the state likely helped deer blend into the landscape, making them harder to spot and trail. And warmer temperatures on Saturday and Sunday likely discouraged deer from moving, he said. Pritzl said, too, that he’d heard anecdotes of areas with a lot of acorns on the ground, which means deer don’t have to move much to find food.

HUMPDAY MEME // ^{_{SORRY, NOT SORRY}}

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EYE CANDY