Life Sciences Commons^™

Daily And Landscape Influences Of Species Visitation To Toxic Bait Sites For Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Joseph M. Halseth, Michael P. Glow, Michael Lavelle, Justin Fischer, Eric H. Vannatta, Kurt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the United States. Use of toxic bait sites by non‐target species is concerning because of the risks posed from exposure to a toxic bait. A 2018 field trial in northern Texas, USA, examining the efficacy of a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE®, containing 10% sodium nitrite) revealed unexpected hazards to non‐target species, primarily passerine birds, from consuming toxic bait spilled outside of bait stations by wild pigs. The hazards jeopardize the ability to register HOGGONE as a tool for controlling …

Tolerance Of Bearded Vultures To Human Activities: Response To Comor Et Al. (2019), Olivier Duriez, Antoni Margalida, Luc Albert, Beatriz Arroyo, Virginie Couanon, Hélène Loustau, Martine Razin, Jean-Baptiste Mihoub

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is listed as vulnerable in Europe on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List because of population declines over multiple generations. Vulture population declines have been attributed to shooting, use of toxicants, and changes in land use, which have resulted in habitat degradation and increased anthropogenic disturbances. Concomitantly, conservation authorities have restricted practices deemed harmful to the species and have established protection buffers around occupied vulture breeding sites to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on breeding success. Comor et al. (2019) compared bearded vulture breeding success over 6 years within …

Hunting Contests In New York State, Tyler Caffrey

Honors College Theses

The world is currently in a biodiversity crisis and hunting contests cannot continue. Hunting contests are not legitimate wildlife management tools, but exist for entertainment and killing for a prize. Many of the species targeted can be killed without bag limits. Additionally, many wildlife management practices are retroactive, meaning they are in response to an issue. Within New York State, these contests are not regulated by the NYSDEC beyond adhering to hunting regulations. With these factors together, animals targeted by these contests can be hunted to a detrimental point, and then management agencies would step in. These contests face significant …

Black Bear, Jimmy D. Taylor, James P. Phillips

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The American black bear (Ursus americanus, Figure 1) is a challenging species for wildlife agencies to manage due to its size, intelligence, extensive range, food habits, and adaptability, as well as societal views. In North America alone, agencies receive more than 40,000 complaints about black bear annually. Black bears are known as ‘food-driven’ animals, meaning most conflicts result from a bear’s drive to meet its nutritional needs. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming proportion of conflicts are related to their use of anthropogenic (human) food sources, such as garbage, bird food, and crops. Understanding what drives human-bear conflict is the first part …

After Decades Of Suburban Deer Research And Management In The Eastern United States: Where Do We Go From Here?, Paul D. Curtis

Human–Wildlife Interactions

State wildlife agencies have regulatory authority and oversight over deer (Cervidae) management in the United States. However, increased urban sprawl and overabundant deer populations have created increased human–deer conflicts. Because of the growing controversy surrounding the use of traditional management practices such as regulated hunting in suburban areas in the eastern United States, managers are now using specialized tools and management approaches to reduce deer conflicts in urban areas. However, this has created new challenges as they try to meet the desires of diverse stakeholder groups. Although deer management programs in urban areas differ somewhat in every state, effective management …

Hawk On Wire: Ecopoems By Scott T. Starbuck, Vivian M. Hansen

The Goose

Review of Scott T. Starbuck’s Hawk on Wire: Ecopoems

Similar Breeding Success Of Bearded Vultures In Disturbed And Undisturbed Areas Shows Evidence Of Adaptation Capabilities, Vincent Comor, Nicolas Poulin, Mathieu Boos

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Retraction notice: We have been informed that because of logistical reasons the authors of Comor et al. (2019) were unable able to provide the answers requested by Duriez et al. (2020) regarding the protocols, the quantitative data, or the small and unbalanced sample sizes. At the authors' request, the article by Comor et al. published in Human–Wildlife Interactions 13(3) has been retracted.

Human activities are usually considered as disturbing factors impeding the breeding success of wild animals. Protected areas can then be set up to restrict such activities aiming to improve wildlife’s breeding success and conservation. To test for the …

Marine Mammals In Asian Societies; Trends In Consumption, Bait, And Traditional Use, Lindsay Porter, Hong Yu Lai

Anthropogenics and Population Decline Collection

In Asia many marine mammal species are consumed as food or for other purposes. The prevalence of this exploitation appears to increase from west to east. An escalating use of marine mammals and the emergence of commercialization of a trade in marine mammals is supported by:

• Regular documentation of both open and covert trade;
• A shift in focus in some diminishing traditional hunts to other marine mammal species;
• A possible revival in some targeted hunts, which had previously ceased;
• The recent implication of some cultures, which have little history of marine mammal consumption previously, in targeted hunts; and
• The growing …

The Utilization Of Aquatic Bushmeat From Small Cetaceans And Manatees In South America And West Africa, A. Mel Cosentino, Sue Fisher

Anthropogenics and Population Decline Collection

Aquatic bushmeat can be defined as the products derived from wild aquatic megafauna (e.g., marine mammals) that are used for human consumption and non-food purposes, including traditional medicine. It is obtained through illegal or unregulated hunts as well as from stranded (dead or alive) and bycaught animals. In most South American and West African countries aquatic mammals are or have been taken for bushmeat, including 33 small cetaceans and all three manatee species. Of these, two cetacean species are listed in the IUCN red list as “near threatened,” and one as “vulnerable,” as are all manatee species. Additionally, 22 cetacean …

Carnivore Diet Identification Through Scat And Genetic Analysis In Namibia, Africa, Alicia J. Walsh

Honors Theses and Capstones

Worldwide the cheetah population is declining making them Africa’s most endangered large cat. Namibia, Africa currently has the largest population of cheetahs in the world. During the summer of 2014, I did scat analysis of carnivores on the property of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia in order to better understand the predators that compete with the cheetah and how the ecosystem works as a whole. I worked at CCF for nine weeks to analyze the diets of carnivores in the area through genetic and scat analysis. Analyzing carnivore feces would ultimately identify the diet of various carnivores in …

Stop Lion Hunting, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

According to my informal tally, at least seven mountain lions have so far been killed in Nebraska during 2014, as follows: 1 & 2: Two were killed on January 1 and 2, at the start of Nebraska's first hunting season. Both were killed by treeing the animals with dogs, then shooting them execution style. One was killed by a man who bought the permit ($13,500) at auction; the other by a teenager who won a Game & Park's fund -raising lottery. 3: An adult male was accidentally killed by a vehicle on February 1, in Sioux County. 4: An adult …

Summary Of Sandhill Crane Hunting Seasons In Kansas 1993-2007, David E. Sharp, Helen M. Hands, James A. Dubovsky, John E. Cornely

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The mid-continent population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) is the largest population of cranes in North America. Hunting seasons for sandhill cranes were closed in 1916 and gradually resumed in Mexico (1940), the United States (1961), and Canada (1964). As knowledge of the biology of cranes and experience with hunting seasons increased, areas in which hunting was permitted expanded, and by 1992 all but 2 states (Nebraska and Kansas) in the U.S. portion of the Central Flyway conducted sport hunting seasons for this population. In 1993 Kansas resumed hunting and initial seasons were limited to specified geographic areas of …

Temporal Distribution Of Harvested Mid-Continent Sandhill Cranes Within The Central Flyway States During The 1997-2001 Hunting Seasons, Adrianna C. Araya, James A. Dubovsky

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Since 1975, annual harvest estimates for Mid-Continent sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) have been collected in all states for which a hunting season has been authorized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Although these data have been used to monitor the harvest of the Mid-Continent population, analyses to promote understanding of the temporal distribution of harvested sandhill cranes by individual states throughout the Central Flyway have not been conducted. For the 1997-2001 hunting seasons, we collected harvest questionnaires from 4,408 hunters in the Central Flyway who provided information about the date, location, and number of harvested sandhill …

Hunting Success For Mid-Continent Sandhill Cranes In The Central Flyway: Comparing Current And Historic Results, James A. Dubovsky, Adrianna C. Araya

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Sport hunting for the Mid-continent population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) in the United States resumed in New Mexico in 1961 after a 45-year moratorium. Interest in crane hunting continued to increase and by 1975, 8 states were participating in sandhill crane hunting. Currently, hunting seasons have been established in all Central Flyway states except Nebraska. Efforts to collect information on the annual harvest of sandhill cranes began in 1975 when hunters were required to obtain federal sandhill crane hunting permits. The permits included a hunting diary whereby hunters were asked to record information about their daily hunting …

Subspecies Composition Of Sandhill Crane Harvest In North Dakota, 1968-94, William L. Kendall, Douglas H. Johnson, Stanley C. Kohn

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

North Dakota is a major fall staging area for the Mid-continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis), which is composed of 3 subspecies: the greater (G. c. tabida), Canadian (G. c. rawani), and lesser (G. c. canadensis). The number of cranes killed by hunters in North Dakota averaged 6,793 during the 1990-94 seasons, ranking second highest among crane-hunting states. The distribution of harvest among subspecies is important, due to concerns about the poorly known status of these subspecies, especially the greater. We estimated subspecies composition of the harvest in North Dakota by …

Sandhill Crane Use Of The Mid-Pecos Valley Of Eastern New Mexico, James B. Montgomery Jr.

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) were monitored during winters 1989-94 in the mid-Pecos River Valley of eastern New Mexico to detennine how many used this region following a population decline in the 1980's. Numbers annually increased to a late October/early November peak (X = 7,017), fluctuated around 6,000 through December, declined in January (X = 3,531), and again peaked in February/early March (X = 5,737). Annual crane use-days (weekly counts X 7) varied from 500,545 to 1,007,673 (X = 760,606). Cranes foraged mainly in corn and sorghum stubble and alfalfa fields. Crop averages (ha) during 1990-92 were alfalfa 21,449, …

Summary Of Sandhill Crane Hunting Seasons In North Dakota, 1968-94, David E. Sharp, John E. Cornely

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The migratory Mid-continent Population (MCP), containing 3 subspecies, is the most numerous of all sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) populations. During fall the MCP uses major staging areas in the Canadian prairie provinces and northcentral United States. In North Dakota, sport hunting of the MCP resumed in 1968, after being closed during 1916-67. The resumption and expansion of crane hunting in North Dakota during 1968-94 followed a gradual panern of implementation. Subspecies considerations, the presence of whooping cranes (G. americana), crop depredation complaints. and public reaction influenced the geographic and temporal expansion of seasons. Harvests gradually increased …

Federal Government Assaults Animals On Wildlife Refuges

Close Up Reports

The welfare of America's wildlife and refuges is being sold for economic gain and recreational pleasure to hunters, trappers, and commercial developers. To date, there are 414 refuges composed of over 86 million acres stretching from the Arctic to the Florida Keys and from Maine to American Samoa. Almost all of these refuges have been touched in some way by natural gas exploration, predator control, pesticides, and commercial farming, ranching, and lumber industries. Over one half of all refuges are open to either hunting or trapping...or both.

All laws and regulations concerning activities on wildlife refuges stipulate that there must …

The North American Black Duck (Anas Rubripes): A Case Study Of 28 Years Of Failure In American Wildlife Management, John W. Grandy

Conservation Collection

A scientific and technical analysis is presented of the factors which may have been primarily responsible for an estimated 60% decline in the black duck (Anas rubripes) population since 1955. The analyses presented show that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the management agency responsible for waterfowl management in the United States, has recognized the population decline, that the FWS's own experts have consistently recognized that hunting is the most likely cause of the population decline, and that hunting is the only mortality factor which wildlife managers can control in the practical sense. Using FWS information, the author shows, …

Whaling Ban Threatened

Close Up Reports

A handful of countries, serving only their own greedy self-interests at the expense of the world's few remaining great whales, are threatening to sabotage the only hope of survival left to these magnificent creatures. Japan, the U.S.S.R., Norway, and Peru have filed formal objections with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to that body's landmark decision to ban commercial whaling as of 1986. Iceland, Brazil, and South Korea, the world's other whaling nations, may join this infamous quartet and add their own objections before the filing deadline in 1983. Unless animal-welfare proponents act decisively now, years of negotiation and scientific inquiry--and …

The Primitive Hunter Culture, Pleistocene Extinction, And The Rise Of Agriculture, Vernon L. Smith

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The hypothesis that megafauna extinction some 10,000 years ago was due to "overkill" by Paleolithic hunters is examined using an economic model of a replenishable resource. The large herding animals that became extinct, such as mammoth, bison, camel, and mastodon, presented low hunting cost and high kill value. The absence of appropriation provided incentives for the wastage killing evident in some kill sites, while the slow growth, long lives, and long maturation of large animals increased their vulnerability to extinction. Free-access hunting is compared with socially optimal hunting and used to interpret the development of conservationist ethics, and controls, in …

Special Report On Hunting

Special Reports

The Humane Society contends that the use of amateur hunters to reduce an overabundant deer herd does not conform with the principles of sound wildlife management. The Humane Society is strongly opposed to any method of culling herds of deer that does not deliver an instant and reasonably merciful death.

Nebraska Deer, William Bailey Jr., George Schildman, Phillip Agee, C. G. Pritchard

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

IN COMMON with the experience of most states, Nebraska's deer herds were reduced to a very low level by excessive harvests in our early history. Most American big-game animals were overharvested in the early history of this nation because of commercialization. Buffalo were killed for their hides, deer for their meat. This slaughter continued as long as the hunter (or poacher) could sell his take at a profit. Modem game management and public opinion reversed this trend. Deer are on the way back all over America, and in some states the protection-complex was so strong that deer were restored to …