May, 2007 - Wildlife Management Pro

Feral Hogs and Damage Concerns

Pig damage and rooting

Feral pigs can cause a variety of damage on both a small and large scale. The most common complaint is rooting or grubbing, resulting in the destruction of crops and pastures. Often times, pigs will damage crops immediately after planting or right as grains mature and are ready for harvest. Damage to farm ponds and watering holes for livestock is another common problem, as land contouring and reconstruction is expensive. Predation on domestic stock and wildlife has been a lesser problem in North America, but has been found in some instances. Continue reading Feral Hogs and Damage Concerns

Setting Snares for Coyotes

Snaring is the technique of setting a steel-cable loop in an animalâ€™s path to capture it by the neck, body, or leg. Snares usually consist of a 2.5- to 10foot (0.75- to 3.0-m) long piece of galvanized aircraft cable containing a slide lock that forms a loop in the cable (Fig. 31). On short snares, a swivel to prevent twisting and breaking the cable is attached to the end of the cable opposite the loop. On longer snares, swivels can be located near the middle of the cable and at one end. Continue reading Setting Snares for Coyotes

Contraception to Control Deer Numbers

Promising research on the use of chemosterilants and immunocontraception to reduce or eliminate reproduction in white-tailed deer is underway. Specificity, efficacy, and delivery of contraceptive agents to deer, however, continue to be problems. The use of contraception for deer herd control will be best suited to urban parks, refuges, and other discrete areas. Keep in mind that deer repellents only treat the symptoms of the problem, but will not control the increase in population size.

It is unlikely that contraception can or will be applied in rural and agricultural areas because of the flow of animals in these large areas. However, these areas also received a high value of economic damage caused by deer depredation of crops and ornamental plants. In these areas, fencing and or deer control fencing will be necessary to keep deer numbers and crop damage depressed.

Repelling Coyotes

Repelling and controlling coyotes

Coyotes rely heavily on visual cues while stalking, chasing, and killing their prey. Taste and smell are of lesser importance in actually making the kill. These factors may in part account for the fact that the repellent compounds were not able to consistently prevent coyotes from killing, although some of the repellents were obviously offensive to coyotes and prevented them from consuming the killed prey. Several compounds were tested on sheep under field conditions, but none appeared to offer significant, prolonged protection.

If an effective chemical repellent were to be found, the obstacles in bringing it to industry use would be significant. The compound would not only need to be effective, but also persistent enough to withstand weathering while posing no undue risk to the sheep, other animals, or the environment. It would also have to withstand the rigorous Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval process.

High-frequency sound has also been tested as a repellent for coyotes, but the results were no more encouraging than for chemical repellents. Coyotes, like dogs, responded to particular sound frequencies and showed some aversion to sounds broadcast within one foot of their ear. Researchers, however, were unable to broadcast the sound a sufficient distance to test the effects under field conditions.

Costs of Grizzly Bear Damage and Control

The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 dictates that the grizzly bear be favored and protected. In terms of a natural resource, individual grizzlies are considered worth $500,000 by some accounts, and the $20,000 penalty for a wrongful death underscores the importance of management. In terms of tourism, recreation, film making, photography, hunting, and all the other cultural and art values of the grizzly, each bear is certainly worth the half million dollars cited above. Yet in Montana, where the future of the grizzly is in jeopardy, their value was only recently raised from $50 to $500.

Bear Damage and Control

Various parts of bear have illegally sold for as much as $250 per front claw, $200 per paw, $10,000 for the hide, $500 for the skull, and $30,000 for the gall bladder. Poachers would likely be fined only $10,000 if caught. One hope for brown bears may be found in the private sector people who value bears highly and contribute to organizations that support proper bear management. Damage prevention and control costs could also be met by such organizations. Because hunting is no longer widely practiced, revenues for bear management have declined. Wildlife agencies must develop a higher value for the brown bear and divert fees collected from hunting other species to meet the rising costs of bear management.

Trapping Feral Hogs

Trapping, especially where feral hog densities are high, is probably the most effective control method. However, traps may not be effective during fall and winter when acorns or other preferred natural foods are available. Hogs seem to prefer acorns over grain and other baits, probably due to the larger percentage of fat found in acorns. Leg snares and hunting may be more productive control methods during fall and winter, but usually require considerably more effort and should not be considered a long-term control stragegy. Stationary corral-type traps and box traps have been used with success, and will help to control numbers, but will not eliminate a hog population.

The corral or stationary trap is permanent and should be constructed in locations where large populations of hogs are evident and where more than one hog can be trapped at a time. It is recommended that the trap be built out of steel fence posts and 2 x 4-inch welded 12-gauge wire fencing. A gate frame can be made from 2 x 4-inch boards. Make doors from 3/4-inch plywood and mount them so that they open inward and close automatically with screen door springs. Heavier material may be used for the gate and frame in areas where exceptionally large hogs are to be trapped. Also, more steel fence posts may be needed to reinforce the wire fencing. The wire fencing should be put on the ground as well as at the top of the trap to prevent hogs from going under the sides or over the top. Fasten the sides to the top and bottom. Continue reading Trapping Feral Hogs

Legal Status of Coyotes

Status of coyote populations

The status of coyotes varies depending on state and local laws. In some states, including most western states, coyotes are classified as predators and can be taken throughout the year whether or not they are causing damage to livestock. In other states, coyotes may be taken only during specific seasons and often only by specific methods, such as trapping. Night shooting with a spotlight is usually illegal. Some state laws allow only state or federal agents to use certain methods (such as snares) to take coyotes. Some states have a provision for allowing the taking of protected coyotes (usually by special permit) when it has been documented that they are preying on livestock.

In some instances producers can apply control methods, and in others, control must be managed by a federal or state agent. Some eastern states consider the coyote a game animal, a furbearer, or a protected species.