Whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Bow-hunting season for deer opens Saturday in all deer hunting zones in the state, except the Western zone, which opens Monday. North Carolina's deer herd is estimated at 1.1 million. It's also estimated there were only 10,000 deer in the state in 1900. Efforts to restore the herd took place from the 1940s through 1970s.
Get the biggest news in your email or cellphone as it's happening. Sign up for breaking news alerts.
The U.S. House has unanimously passed a bill that would allow a bigger herd of free-roaming Corolla horses in Currituck County in an effort to create more genetic diversity in the herd. 
Kneeling in 6 inches of muddy water in Dick's Bay behind Masonboro Island, Ted Wilgis hoisted a large clump of Eastern oysters in one rubber-gloved hand. 
The men arrived toting crocks of wild boar gravy, trays of deer quesadilla and plastic tubs of kangaroo meat. 
A pack of pickups parked along a puddle-dappled farm road in Duplin County, soybeans and corn in long-picked fields nearby giving way to planted crops of winter wheat or volunteer grasses and wild onions. 
Alison Morton, a senior at Leesville Road High School, has hunted by herself for three years, but said she had never experienced anything like the 12-point buck she killed the weekend after Thanksgiving. Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
Subscribe to Sports - it's free!
Subscribe to Hurricanes - it's free!
Subscribe to College Sports - it's free!
Subscribe to Duke - it's free!
Subscribe to ECU - it's free!
Subscribe to NCSU - it's free!
Subscribe to UNC - it's free!
Subscribe to Wake Forest - it's free!
Subscribe to Preps - it's free!
