By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Every hunter is sure of the shot as he or she releases. Unfortunately, not all deer go down easy. There are people who specialize in tracking injured deer. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner said most of the dogs used on the Kansas Deer Recovery Facebook page are certified through organizations like United Blood Trackers. Before contacting a tracker, however, hunters should know where to send the dog.
"The tracker is going to want to know the exact location of where that deer was hit, within a yard," Wagner said. "They need to know exactly where they were standing when that deer was hit. Also pay attention to direction, how that deer reacted when it was shot, the direction that deer traveled, all those fine little details."
Wagner recommended calling a tracker sooner rather than later. A group of hunters stomping through the woods can dilute the scent of a wounded deer, or get it on their boots and spread it around. Deer release a distinct odor through the interdigital gland. The dogs, Wagner said, can usually track the deer even without blood.
"There's a gland between their hooves," he said. "When that deer is shot or wounded, it starts secreting this scent. It gets a little waxy in there. As it's running off, it leaves this different scent than all the other deer that the dog is keying on."
A map of trackers is available in the featured or about section of the Kansas Deer Recovery Facebook page. The TRAKR app available on phones has similar information.