First otter trapping season called a success
Illinois trappers took just over 2,000 river otters during the 2012-13 season, the first time trappers could legally catch them since 1929.
Based on population estimates, Illinois Department of Natural Resources furbearer biologist Bob Bluett said he had expected between 1,200 and 1,800 otters to be taken. “The difference was fur prices were up,” he said. “More people were trapping and there was more opportunity to catch otters.”
Before otter trapping became legal, beaver trappers ran the risk of accidentally catching a river otter because the animals frequent the same habitats.
“A few guys gave up on beaver trapping, afraid they were going to trap otters,” Gragert said, providing one explanation for the rise in beaver pelts sold.
Aw, how touching. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the cautious rebound of a struggling species than 2000 memorial coats! Never mind that you would do better using those otters as a indicator for finding which watersheds are more healthy and support the best fish. Never mind that the last time you had a trapping season for otters you stopped having otters. Trapping is a national pastime, and if destroying nature is the only reason you go outside, then by all means we need more opportunities for destroying nature!
And it’s never a pointless exploitation of nature. Just look at this article.
There’s flavorful meat in fur-bearing critters
Most hunters will skin their catch and toss the carcass away. But those who do are missing some good eating. With meat prices, especially beef, rising rapidly, it’s sure to be better to not only sell the fur but eat the animals they catch.
Muskrats are just one example. These small fur bearers have long been the bread and butter of area trappers. But once the fur is scraped and stretched, the carcass usually goes in the trash can. That is a downright shame.
Because a nice Muskrat melt will warm the cockles on a cold winter morning. Honestly, this is the part of autumn I hate. There are twenty trapping articles on the beaver news cycle this morning. I can’t wait until we get to winter and everyone gets back to complaining about flooding.
Then there’s beaver, another sought after fur bearer in Ohio. The old time mountain men, hunters and trappers like Will Sublet and Kit Carson liked beaver and ate them often.
Their favorite part was the tail, not the flat, gelatinous part, but the base which is tender red meat. I had a friend who trapped beaver and often stopped by to give me a hind quarter. The quarters in a big beaver might weigh 6 or 7 pounds. I put them in the oven covered with French onion soup to slow bake. They were lean and flavorsome.
Ugh, we need a hardy dose of this after today’s column.
