FORT SILL, Okla. -- (To the tune of "Born to be Wild")
Got the motor runnin.'
Head out on the trailway.
Looking for some antlers.
Or whatever comes our way.
Yeah, we're
Gonna make it happen.
Take the woods at a steady pace
Don't shine all your lights at once,
The deer will scatter into space.
Counting the wild!
First, I apologize for my feeble attempt at being clever. Second, the song was pretty funny though, right? Well, maybe if you know what I'm talking about, which is the spotlight count the Natural Resources office conducts each year. What happens is a bunch of people ride out into the wild, at night, with a spotlight and count the number and type of elk and deer. The goal is to, among other things, collect data to better manage the wildlife which can result in adjustments to harvest regulations (quotas for hunting).
I first read about the spotlight count in the July issue of the Cannoneer. Glen Wampler, Natural Resources administrator, wrote about it in his Wild Side column reminding readers there were still seats available for the two weekends the count would be taking place. I'd read spots fill up quickly and still I waited until the week before the first ride to call and ask for a spot. They were all but full and I just barely managed to squeeze into the Monday-night ride.
I arrived at the Natural Resources office at 7:30 p.m. OK, so what really happened was I arrived at Sportsmen Services at about 7:35 p.m. and they told me to go to the next building where I found Chris Deurmyer, Fort Sill Natural Resources Office wildlife biologist, grabbing some shotguns. He told me where to go park but I had to go to the bathroom first and then I forgot where he said to go and I had to go back and he said he would just take me over there if I would wait, so I probably got to the meeting place about 8 p.m.
There were two vehicles for the two groups going out. After a coin-flip to see which group would go where, my group went to the south part of East Range.
You'd think it being August and so hot during the day, the evenings would be just as sweltering, but the breeze from driving combined with the night sky made for an unbelievably comfortable, although bouncy, ride. I was told if I stayed until they finished the count (around 7:30 a.m.) the temperature drops to below 70 degrees some mornings.
We headed down Cache Creek Road (on the training side of post) and straight into a field. At one point we were driving over a hill, sideways, and I thought we were going to flip. Jim Speegle, a retired lieutenant colonel who had been on many such rides, assured me the vehicle was designed to handle the very slanted terrain.
The way the count works is as one person drives (in my case Walter Munsterman), another uses a high-beam light to scan the dark for animals (Wampler was usually the scanner). Often you spot the glowing eyes, although you can't rely on just the glowing dots as sometimes they turn out to be just a spider. While he's scanning, the others in the vehicle look through binoculars to see if they can spot elk or deer (Speegle and Oral Pedigo, a retired chief warrant officer 4). Once spotted, Pedigo would write down what kind of animal we saw: buck, doe or fawn, and the area it was spotted.
While we saw many deer (in fact by the time midnight rolled around we'd seen 26 bucks, 27 fawns and 61 does) we also came across a few armadillos, a few skunks, a baby bird and one "unknown." I was hoping for a coyote or, if I was really lucky, a cougar, but no such luck. Maybe I'll just count that "unknown" as a chupacabra.
Still, I had a lot of fun even though I don't really know much about elk or deer, or hunting, or the wild. I got to see a different part of Fort Sill and learned a lot (did you know, deer love alfalfa? Oh, of course you did, that's common knowledge unless you're me).
All in all I was out in the fields (and between buildings and around ponds) for little more than three hours and could have stayed longer if I didn't have a babysitter at home waiting for me to get back. I was dropped off at my car and given directions on how to get back in the dark before I said goodbye and good luck.
The spots for the counts fill up incredibly fast and bumping a veteran counter (because some of them have been coming for years) may be hard to do, but if you can work your way into a spot next year, make sure you do. You'll have a good time, meet good people and you'll know where all the best spots to see deer or elk are.
I'm still looking for things to do for the Okie Bucket List. If you have a suggestion, please let me know by calling 580-442-2920 or sending us a message on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/FortSillCannoneer.
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