Unless a big group of caribou turn around and head back toward the Steese Highway during the next week, the winter hunt for Fortymile caribou will almost surely remain open through the end of the month.
The season for the winter Fortymile hunt closed on Feb. 28 but was re-opened on March 5 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game because hunters hadn’t come close to killing the number of caribou allotted for the hunt.
Since the hunt re-opened, hunters have taken about 40 additional caribou but the quota allows another 90 or so to be harvested, Tok area biologist Jeff Gross said.
The hunt is scheduled to close March 31 or when the quota is reached but the chances of that happening are slim, said Gross.
“As the month has progressed (the caribou) have definitely started to thin out,” he said.
But Gross said hunters heading off the Steese Highway on snowmachines still stand a chance of bumping into a caribou.
“I talked to a pilot (on Monday) who still saw a few caribou up in that area,” he said.
The harvest quota for the Steese Highway hunt is 275 and hunters have reported taking about 185 animals.
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