Hunger Moon

The Hunger Moon means winter kill. Winter kill. It sounds almost benign. Until you realize it's a euphemism for weeks of slowly starving to death. The deer have lost their fat and the cold saps their energy. They sleep more and forage less. Their movements become hesitant. Their walk unsure. Slowly their bodies begin to break down until an adult deer is diminished to the point where you can pick up and carry the remains. And, eventually there is the sleep that ends all suffering.

The coyotes and the wolves will eat. As will the foxes and the flock of ravens that circles overhead everyday like winter vultures. In a normal winter, about 15% of the deer herd is winter killed. In an extreme winter, as high as 45%...of about 200,000 whitetails in the province. In nature, there are no seniors homes for wildlife to live out in time in relative comfort and die quietly in their sleep. The only time death is not slow and brutal is when it is fast and brutal.

And the same was true for people in years gone by. Some of my plant reference books are full of references to "starvation food" - what you ate during The Hunger Moon. The cruelest moon of all.