Steuben Jerry

As far as I'm concerned if it's important or time-sensitive, it doesn't go in the mail. FedEx or UPS only. USPS tracking is the worst. Someone should tell them how it works. I bought a knife on eBay few months back. Seller shipped it the next day via mail. Tracking showed it shipped. This was coming from Albany to my house in the southern tier. For a month it just showed "shipped", no other activity. Then the knife showed up, box was mangled, but knife and sheath were unscathed. A few days later I thought to see if the tracking had any activity. Nope, still just showed "shipped".

Happy Birthday guys!

In for team 4.

Well, hopefully the season will still happen for you. I’ve got a few field edge stands you can take my wheeler to, and my JD can deliver it to your tailgate. Just have to drop it in the field. Between NYTracker and I, we should be able to put you in front of a fat deer!

Sounds like points on the board!

Oh crap, that sucks Rob.

Hmm, I think we may be able to scrape up a southern tier team.. @Pygmy @rob-c @Nytracker and for the ringer @wnybowhunter Who am I forgetting at the moment?

I was involved in a movement just this morning. My wife yelled at me for not turning the exhaust fan on..

Best wishes for your son Eddie!

Wolc takes a fine BB with a massive girth.

They truly are. I like to help out where I can, so I'll take those lousy cuts of meat and dispose of them for you!

? Curious. The high markup?

Cool blast from the past!

My high fence operation didn't work out. They all busted out..

And do the opposite of this.

If you were just a bit closer, I'd run over and cut it up for you in short order. Kind of a drive though..

A form of a countdown timer then!

Good luck to you and Handsome Howie! Waiting to see the pics of the perch slayers.

So I replied to that email and sent him a pic of that bear I posted on the other thread (reposted here). He answered quickly and was pretty certain of the cause. @G-Man called it. Hi Jerry, The bear hair loss is most likely due to sarcoptic mange. We have seen a marked increase in bear mange over the last 10-15 years, PA is seeing similar cases. This is the same mite that is common in red fox (where it is usually fatal). The jury is out on whether of not bears can recover from infection, I think I have seen some resolved cases but I can’t prove it. There are multiple studies underway assessing the epidemiology and impact of mange in black bears in the northeast. Thanks for sharing the photo. -Kevin

I don't think he was run off by anyone that engaged his posts. Ol' Rattler seemed to hold his own fairly well.

Post 'em as you get them! I enjoyed the photos from your last trip.

Haha - I'm losing my hair too! Maybe I'm just molting!

A chainsaw is a pretty handy thing to have, especially when you have a bit of land! Even if you only use it every great once in a while.

I watched her through the binoculars last evening and there doesn’t seem to be anything different about her behavior. She was with two other does and three fawns. Just browsing around. When they moved on she was kind of in the lead. I sent the pics to a DEC biologist and received the following reply; Hi Jerry, Demodectic (or other) mange could be a possible culprit, but we do not see many mangey deer submitted for necropsy….maybe one every three years or so. Another, more common, potential cause could be dermatophilosis a bacterial infection of the skin that prefers warm moist weather and can cause hair loss and crusty skin lesions, I do not see any definitive crusty lesions in these photos though. We see a few cases of dermatophilosis every year; in adult deer the infection is often self-limiting and eventually resolves but it is often fatal for small fawns. Other possibilities include molting anomalies (caused by any number of conditions that we have a hard time elucidating), lice, dietary deficiencies, or genetics. Bald patches can also occur from trauma; “road rash”, fences, or over-grooming. It appears most of the summer guard hairs are missing where she can easily reach with her mouth. It seems very early for molting into winter hair, but that is a possibility. I would suggest keeping an eye on her to see what develops over the next few weeks. She appears to be in decent body condition. What Town are you in? Thank you for the report and your concern. If you get some more photos please feel free to send it to me. Thanks -Kevin Kevin Hynes Wildlife Health Unit, Division of Fish and Wildlife New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Wildlife Resources Center 108 Game Farm Road Delmar, NY 12054 P: (518) 478-3034 | F: (518) 478-3035 | [email protected] www.dec.ny.gov | | |

Cool! Be careful, but have lots of fun!