The United States is home to a wide variety of game species, some found nowhere else in the world. Here are four species that are uniquely American.
Dozens of game species inhabit the United States. There are 29 traditional big game species recognized as part of the North American Super Slam, in which a hunter takes one member of each species, as well as small game species. For generations, the variety of game has been a claim to fame. The fauna of the New World was one of the most striking features to colonists arriving from Europe and elsewhere, and served as the sustenance for native tribes long before that.
Many of the species have Old World counterparts, like brown bears, bison and deer. Others are found nowhere else on the planet. Here are four species that represent the American hunting spirit and are found almost exclusively in the US.
Osceola Turkey
Photo courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/Jamie Adams
The turkey barely missed out on being the United States’ national bird. Thankfully, Benjamin Franklin’s well-intentioned but misguided idea fell through, and every year Americans can hunt gobblers instead of bald eagles. The Osceola subspecies is found only in Florida.
Alaska Brown Bear
Thinkstock/per bergsbo
The Alaska brown bear is recognized as a distinct subspecies from the inland grizzly. They are similar to other brown bears but grow much larger via their salmon-rich diet. A male typically weighs in the high hundreds to 1,000 pounds. Individuals have been known to live as long as 30 years.
Its range is almost entirely limited to the southern coast of Alaska and nearby islands like Kodiak.
Tule Elk
Thinkstock/SumikoPhoto
The tule elk is found only in California. It’s numbers were once estimated to be 500,000, but these small-bodied elk have been on the brink of extinction for decades. Hunting has resumed in limited numbers as the subspecies continues to make a comeback.
Shiras Moose
Thinkstock/Tom Tietz
Shiras moose are the smallest antlered and bodied moose of any on the North American continent. The Boone and Crockett Club lists the world record Shiras at 205 1/2 inches—over 36 inches shorter than the record Canada moose and over 56 inches less than the record Alaska-Yukon moose.
Their entire population resides in the Rocky Mountains and almost entirely inside the United States, according to superslam.org.
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ALASKA BEARS: Stirred and Shaken is a collection of 24 stories describing Jake’s personal experience hunting and guiding for all the species of bears in Alaska. Bear biology, hunting techniques, cabin depredations and avoidance thereof, and other aspects of bear pursuits are detailed. These are true stories except for the names of some of the hunting guests from Jake’s fifty years of living and hunting in Alaska. Buy Now
