SAT scores notwithstand- ing, Colorado is home to some of the best educated hunters in America.

That’s not to imply that at least a few nimrods didn’t graduate cum laude from some institution of higher learning or another. Rather, it’s a testament to the state law requiring hunter education for everyone born since 1949 before he or she can purchase a hunting license of any kind.

Bowhunting requires graduate study.

That’s all the more reason to mourn the loss of 11 moose shot illegally through the course of two rifle seasons so far this year, presumably mistaken for elk.

Species identification is a significant portion of the hunter ed curriculum, including photos of the unrelated species on opposing pages of the textbook.

Yet in 2010, wildlife officers investigated 14 similar moose/elk mistakes yielding 11 citations for poaching or negligence. Highlighted by the trophy bull moose discovered shot and abandoned in the White River National Forest near Vail’s Red Sandstone Road on Oct. 30, the current pace to potentially surpass that mark is simply inexcusable.

The situation presents one of those quandaries threatening to give hunters a black eye despite the fact that Colorado’s moose introduction program qualifies as one of the most successful species conservation efforts in state history, primarily funded by hunters themselves.

With roughly 1,700 moose ranging throughout the Colorado Rockies, there is a legal hunting season for the animals. Colorado Parks and Wildlife issued 175 moose hunting licenses this year, with a lifetime bag limit of one antlered moose.

“We harvest about 50,000 elk every year. The vast majority of hunters behave responsibly and identify their target before taking their shot,” CPW northwest regional manager Ron Velarde emphasized. “They shouldn’t feel like they’re getting a black eye because a very small number of people are too quick on the trigger.”

Sitting through a hunter education course, it becomes evident that hunters are a surprisingly image-conscious lot, recognizing that the greatest threat to hunting ultimately may be other hunters. Statistically, hunters and those adamantly opposed to the activity are about even at 5 percent nationwide.

The vast majority of Americans find the activity acceptable, even if they don’t do it themselves.

That category makes up the volatile “swing vote,” if you will, the segment of society the hunting community doesn’t want to upset by shooting the wrong animals or generally behaving like uneducated slobs.

Killing things, even to put food on the table, is almost always a volatile topic, leading to words such as “harvest” to politely mean the same thing. Those opposed to hunting tend to be vehemently opposed, which explains the emphasis on image and ethics in the education arena.

The “how can you kill Bambi?” question is, of course, a loaded one. So it’s best for hunters to arm themselves with some knowledge of carrying capacity, biological surplus and habitat loss before blurting out the part about how much fun hunting is.

There’s no argument that the law requiring hunter education has made hunting a safer sport in Colorado, for both people and wildlife. But often lost in the wash is the reality that hunting has made Colorado wildlife what it is today, if for no other reason than the revenue it generates is a primary funding mechanism for habitat improvement. Loss of habitat, not hunters, is the single greatest threat to wildlife in Colorado.

Anyone interested in wildlife will benefit from taking, or retaking, the hunter education class, even the free online version offered through the CPW website. The claim that it’s not just for hunters holds merit, particularly the topics of conservation and management, outdoor survival and wildlife identification, not to mention suggestions for things people can do to enhance their own safety this time of year.

More than anything, you’re likely to meet some smart hunters. Probably even some you’ll like.

Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com