moose antler; leave it or keep it?

[Stan]

There are plenty of ethics in the world, some followed more by some than others. If it is not a rule of the jurisdiction in which you are hiking, then your conscience can be your guide and you choose which ethic to follow.

However, if I brought one home I can hear another ethic calling ... like, "Get that thing outta this house!"

Now that I think about it, why don't the moose pack out their own debris?

 

[newjeep123]

on a related note, there is a shed moose antler at lean to #5 at Russell Pond. It has a 3-4 inch gouge where the rodents have eaten away at it.

 

[twigeater]

If it's the same antler (likely) it's been there for 2 years, and probably even for as long as that lean-to has been there (3-4 years I think).

That's a nice lean-to location!

 

[Tramper Al]

While the forest's loss of a single antler cannot have any lasting impact, I think we must be careful in our commitment to LNT.

The argument that there is so much of whatever it is out there that one person taking some home cannot hurt, is of course disappointing. Obviously, we must act under the guide of 'what if everyone else did the same' when it comes to LNT.

And the contention that it is hard to know where to draw the line, and therefore why try, is even more feeble, in my opinion.

On a recent county line hike, my companion and I stumbled upon not one but three fine moose antlers at different times throughout the day. We are guilty only of moving one of them to a slightly higher place on the peak.

Two other times, while bushwhacking, I have stumbled upon whole moose skeletons, both times scattered over a hillside by scavengers. To consider removing any part of this find and denying both the animal scavengers and the next lost bushwhacker the pleasure of discovering it as I did would seem to me to be unthinkably selfish.

 

[twigeater]

The argument that there is so much of whatever it is out there that one person taking some home cannot hurt, is of course disappointing.

That's not what I intended in my post, if that's what you're referring to. Though I do believe in this case, it's true.

If this was a question of bathing in the water using biodegradeable soap, I'd agree that if only one person did that it would hurt.

 

[Jasonst]

Last week I ran across a pile of moose / deer dung and thought about taking it home, but then I figured that would be selfish of me because those tiny plants are counting on that nourishment.

This is a really silly discussion. I found a moose antler last year and I took it home and it is now hanging from the wall in my barn. Is anyone's hiking experience diminished by the "lack" of an antler on a trail? I think LNT sometimes is over the top and lacking in reasonableness.

 

[chomp]

I'd take it if I found one as long as it wasn't too heavy and I was in the middle of nowhere. I have seen antlers and skulls along various trails that are not very popular. I appreciated other people leaving them there for me to see, so I left them as well. I would say ditto for a trailless summit. But if I stumbled across one in the middle of nowhere, I would probably grab it.

 

[twigeater]

I agree, Jasonst - I was going to post something similar like the wearing of DEET deprives mosquitos of nutrition, but refrained...common sense (such as the individual situations that chomp described) should prevail.

 

[MtnMagic]

Moose dung is shellacked, glued to a card often having witty sayings and sold to the tourists in many of the giftshops. I've come across so many deer antlers in the spring/summer that I don't bother to collect them anymore. If I came across a nice rack of moose antlers, I carry them for 10 miles, if need be. Then I'd mount them on wood and display them proudly above the door on my shed complementing the varied "shed art" on the outside walls. Many that live in the North Country exhibit antlers in the home, barn or garage.

 

[afka_bob]

This is a really silly discussion...Is anyone's hiking experience diminished by the "lack" of an antler on a trail? I think LNT sometimes is over the top and lacking in reasonableness.

Is my hiking experience diminished by the lack of wildlife that no longer inhabits its former range? If somebody picks the flowers that I never saw, is my experiencve diminished?

Is anyone's hiking experience diminished by the lack (or "lack") of an antler on a trail?

Only if:

1) they (or, say, you, Jasonst) like seeing such things.

2) the antler was there before.

Look at it this way:

Can the hiking experience be heightened by the presence of antlers?

If yes, than, certainly, it can be diminished by their absence. The expererience can be diminshed without even knowing that is has been or why.

LNT might not be possible, but (like always being nioce to your wife and kids) is an ideal to strive for.

 

[Tramper Al]

I paddled across Flagstaff Lake a little while ago, and when I landed a few hundred feet from a hand carry launch, I came across quite a find. It was a nice heavy stone just loaded with Silurian brachiopod fossils, a bit over 400 million years old. I did what I consider to be the right thing, and now this fine specimen is sitting on someone else's bookshelf, no doubt. When I brought my wife out onto that rocky shore to show it to her some months later, it was gone.

 

[afka_bob]

When I don't drag things out of the woods for my shed or shelf, I like to think that I'm enhancing Jasonst's and Twigeater's expererience -- and collections!

 

[Puck]

Last week I ran across a pile of moose / deer dung and thought about taking it home, but then I figured that would be selfish of me because those tiny plants are counting on that nourishment.

This is a really silly discussion. I found a moose antler last year and I took it home and it is now hanging from the wall in my barn. Is anyone's hiking experience diminished by the "lack" of an antler on a trail? I think LNT sometimes is over the top and lacking in reasonableness.

Hell yes! My hiking experiences have been diminished. But, let me hike through your barn and we can call it even.

 

[Skyclimber]

I totally believe in LNT. If the wildlife sheds their antlers, that adds beauty to the woods, for something else interesting to see along the trails. The unique things we see in the woods is part of our experience in hiking, whether there is a hundred of them or one of them. It is still part of the hiking experience for everyone to see. Leave it there for us all to enjoy, not being selfish taking it just for your own enjoyment.

 

[Jasonst]

1) they (or, say, you, Jasonst) like seeing such things.

I guess I like "finding and keeping" these things more than I like "seeing such things" If you all found a "naturally occurring" gold nugget in a stream, would you abide by LNT or would you stick it in your pocket, scrap the hike, and start wading? Perhaps off the subject but somewhat relevant...

 

[twigeater]

LOL...while I can't boast any moose antlers, you are welcome to hike through my house anytime...I've picked up stuff on various beaches, and while biking and well as hiking...(I just know that someone, somewhere really missed seeing that dead American Kestrel that I found on the side of the road and carted home - and some crow is probably malnourished for lack of that meal )
Many so called outdoors people who come to my house don't even notice the neat stuff on the shelves, much less know what it all is.

Along the trail I've pointed out many fossils to my hiking companions who've said "what are we supposed to be looking at?" and mostly just wandered off uninterested. I also noticed last year that the large rock with brachiopods that adorned the fire ring on Wassataquoik Lake Island is no longer there. Given the size of the thing, I do wonder what happened to it.

But again - an antler is quite different than a fossil.

PS - I know of a gravel pit that has 15,000 year old fossilized shells that are simply used in fill. Apparently they are not old enough to be considered geologically significant, so they are trashed.
But what about in 15,000 more years?!

 

[Sid Yamel]

Time to move on.

Ok...Ok.... Enough already about antlers or feathers. What's the big deal? Whole animals are harvested all the time never mind just taking an antler.

I think it's time to move on to some other subject.

 

[Rik]

I guess I like "finding and keeping" these things more than I like "seeing such things" If you all found a "naturally occurring" gold nugget in a stream, would you abide by LNT or would you stick it in your pocket, scrap the hike, and start wading? Perhaps off the subject but somewhat relevant...

I guess I like "leaving things alone that don't belong to me" more than I like "taking things for me me me alone and leaving". Why not just take anything you come across. Trail signs, a pretty stone that just happens to be part of the trailwork, a new hiking stick that is also part of a bridge,...
Take only photos, leave only footprints. It is cliche but not bad policy.

 

[Jasonst]

Um, well, I thought this was obvious but the antler belonged to the moose, and the moose discarded it, so, umm, I guess it's mine. Trail signs and markers do not belong to me so I leave them alone.

 

[Rik]

Um, well, I thought this was obvious but the antler belonged to the moose, and the moose discarded it, so, umm, I guess it's mine.

Um, well, I guess everything discarded belongs to , umm, Jason!