Mashomack reports increased shotgun deer cull

It took only five days of shotgun hunting at Mashomack Preserve this month to kill more deer than the entire month of January 2015.

Natural Resources Manager Mike Scheibel reported from January 4 through 8, hunters culled 160 deer from the herd at the Preserve compared with 129 taken last January.

But he pointed out that the hunt is always “front-loaded,” meaning most deer that will be culled are taken at the start of the hunt. Islanders shouldn’t expect a large increase from the 160 during the remainder of the month.

That’s because it’s easier to take deer when there are large numbers; as the herd is culled, the opportunity to take them diminishes.

There’s also the reality that high deer harvests point to the likelihood there were a larger number of deer at Mashomack than expected, Mr. Scheibel said.

At Mashomack, about 50 hunters — some local and others from places as far away as Maine and Florida — were shooting at the beginning of the month.

“I try not to turn anyone down from the Island,” Mr. Scheibel said about using local hunters. As for the out-of-towners, apparently hunting was slow in their home states and they opted to come here to bag a deer or two.

He has been cooperating with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) in gathering blood and tick samples from culled deer at the request of Dr. Scott Campbell, a lab director for the county department. Dr. Campbell is also a member  of the Shelter Island Deer & Tick Committee.

The SCDHS is working with New York State state to look not only at biological diseases known to be tick-borne, but the possibility of viral diseases, Mr. Scheibel said.

“They’re casting a pretty broad net,” he said.

It’s much to early to have any results from those samples, Mr. Scheibel said. But Dr. Campbell will keep the local Deer & Tick Committee informed as information becomes available.

“The more you think you know what’s going on, the less you know,” Mr. Scheibel said.