cougar found dead in teanaway.

[elkslayer069]

yeah no kidding between fish and game dnr and queen christine no wonder this state is broke.

[AKBowman]

Good. One less predator.

[Little Dave]

Is that the correct thing to do if you find a tagged/dead animal? 
Remove the tags and take back to the WDFW regional office?  Or take the whole animal back? Or, just leave the tags and photograph/GPS mark it, then tell them?

When a hunter tags an animal lawfully, he owns the animal and any research "jewelry" it is wearing.  There is no obligation to return any of it, but it's a good idea.  The collars can run about $3000 so either passing on the animal or returning the collar can conserve state resources for other purposes.  Tags are cheap, but the biologist may have pictures and other information to share which might be interesting.

A word of warning about tagged animals: 
Sometimes the tag will read, "Do not consume if harvested before mm/dd/yy."  It might be reason enough to consider passing on the tagged or collared animals.  If you want to know why that warning is there, maybe have a chat with the biologist.

[canyelk48]

When a hunter tags an animal lawfully, he owns the animal and any research "jewelry" it is wearing.  There is no obligation to return any of it, but it's a good idea.  The collars can run about $3000 so either passing on the animal or returning the collar can conserve state resources for other purposes.  Tags are cheap, but the biologist may have pictures and other information to share which might be interesting.

A word of warning about tagged animals: 
Sometimes the tag will read, "Do not consume if harvested before mm/dd/yy."  It might be reason enough to consider passing on the tagged or collared animals.  If you want to know why that warning is there, maybe have a chat with the biologist.
[/quote]

I'm betting the reason for the consumption warning is that when they tagged the animal, it was vaccinated, given antibiotics, or just the residuals in the meat from the tranquilizers they used.  Most drugs given to livestock have a specific recommended time frame to wait prior to consumption.

[dreamunelk]

Actually the collar is the property of the owner, the state, feds. or ?.  Keep it and you could get charged with theft.  Tags are on because there is a do not consume period.  Usually 30 days for prophylactic meds and antagonist, if used. If you harvest a marked animal just call the phone number and give them the tag number.  You should know shortly if it is consumable.  If not then you can get a replacement tag.  This is all in the regs! Generally they do not capture within thirty days of a season.  But, with all the seasons this is not as easy as it sounds. 
I recommend the individual who found this cat go online and send an email to the main office. I bet someone wants to know more about this cat.  It may not be part of a project.  It could be a cat that was relocated after it got to close to a residential area.  What happened to it is good information.  Think about it this way.  Often the WDFW want to increase harvest on a species and people say why can't you just move them.  Well, it is not that easy and when it is done often they die.  I bet that this cat was relocated and starved to death.  Releasing an animal into an area that already has a component of the same animal just does not work as some bunny huggers would like to believe.  Data like this can aid in future arguments on increasing hunter opportunity.
To bad you guy's that attempted to return a collar or provide the information were treated so poorly.  In my experience they are always happy to get a collar and find out the information.  Often these old collar and ear tags provide great info.  For example, say a cow elk was collared in the 90's.  Project ends and years later the battery dies.  Years later a hunter harvests or finds the collar on a recently killed elk (car, predator, or ?).  If the animal was aged at time of capture then this info adds to the knowledge of how long this animal lived and age structure.  All good information.

[fly4fish]

Just to let you know, an 80 - 100 lb tom is quite small and not more than two years old. 150 lbs plus would be a decent tom.  Hope we see a picture!

[Little Dave]

Actually the collar is the property of the owner, the state, feds. or ?.  Keep it and you could get charged with theft.  Tags are on because there is a do not consume period.  Usually 30 days for prophylactic meds and antagonist, if used.

In cases where the animal is found dead, the equipment is still property of the state.

For lawfully tagged animals, one reason why researchers don't want it to be unlawful to keep the equipment is to increase the probability that it will be returned.  One such elk with a mud-stained collar was harvested in North Bend this year.  The collar was promptly returned by the hunter, refurbished, and has since been installed on another elk.

Do not rely on tags exclusively to identify animals which have been treated with the drugs.  The elk mentioned above was not tagged when it was drugged and collared, mainly because the collaring took place months before the hunting season.  Don't hunt out of season.    Tags are principly used to mark animals for population estimation.

[seth30]

Should of told them it was a wolf. Then when they all got out there said "PSYCH!" 

  you made me spit out my coffee with that

[CAMPMEAT]

.....................and don't forget, the WDFW works for us to enhance our hunting experience. The experience of screwing us on seasons, tag costs etc. Our best friend.

[400out]

If I shot a wall hanger with a collar it would be the coolest mount on the block