Wildlife Populations in Mississippi

With the excitement of hunting season upon us in North MS it caused me to reflect on my years hunting and the wildlife population changes I have observed. My father carried me hunting when I was so little that half the time, he carried his shotgun on one arm and me in the other. Mostly my first memories of hunting were dove and squirrel hunting in the MS Delta. When I got a little older, I remember traveling to hunt deer with my uncle in Panola County MS and was still not old enough to carry a gun. I recall the deer population back then was nothing like it is today. Back then if a hunter saw a deer track entire hunts were planned in that area. Thanks to wildlife conservation I go back to those places I hunted with my dad as a child where we got excited about seeing a track and you can hardly take a step without stepping on a deer track. Some younger people in MS don’t realize how good they have it. Simply put compared to back then the deer population in MS has exploded. I remember lots of conversations between my uncle and father about conservation and how much the loss of a single doe deer could negatively impact the deer population for years to come. I also remember that it was not acceptable to even speak of shooting a doe back then. If you did it was not the game warden you had to worry about if you got caught. Hunting was improving and I killed quite a few deer in the same woods in my teen age years. In my opinion some other game has not faired as well. I remember back then that Bob White Quail were everywhere, and it was not uncommon to jump two or three cubies in a single day while scouting for deer. I remember in the Spring in that same area those hills were alive in the early mornings with the sound of Bob White Quail singing their call looking for a mate. Now Quail are as rare or even more rare than deer were back then. I have also noticed that Turkey has increased in the area. Up until just a few years back there was no open season for Turkey in the area. As for Rabbits I think there has been a sharp decline in Rabbit populations. Back in the day anytime you drove in the area at night you would see several rabbits along the road and now it is rare. I am no wildlife biologist, but the other population booms I have seen over the years is Coyotes and birds of prey. I feel like the quail and rabbit populations have suffered because of the increase of Coyotes and Hawks. All of that being said wildlife populations of MS are strong and a great example of the effects of wildlife conservation. We should be very proud of the work of The Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks and know that we are blessed to have the wildlife populations we have in MS.