Minimizing Leg‐Hold Trapping Trauma for Otters With Mobile Phone Technology

Néill, Lughaidh Ó; Jongh, Addy de; Ozoliņš, Jurijs; Jong, Tjibbe de; Rochford, John

doi:10.2193/2006-482

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Amount of time spent in foothold traps has been reported to be a predictor of severity of injury (Proulx et al , Néill et al ), presumably because of decreased circulation in the limb and potentially exacerbated by freezing temperatures (Onderka et al ). Nevada harvest records indicated 25 cougars were trapped in 18 different management units by trap or snare between the 2004–2005 and 2009–2010 cougar hunt seasons (1 Mar 2004–28 Feb 2010;

\bar{x}

= 4.2/year ± 3.4 [SD]; NDOW, unpublished data), indicating that some incidental captures and undocumented mortalities likely occur in a wider geographic area than our study area in western Nevada.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of cougars caught in non‐target foothold traps and snares

et al. 2018

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Cougars (Puma concolor) occupy mountain ranges throughout the Great Basin, Nevada, USA, where legal trapping of bobcats (Lynx rufus) is common and some non‐target captures of cougars in bobcat traps occur. Such incidental capture of cougars is an undocumented source of mortality because some cougars die from injuries several weeks after release from traps. We examined cause‐specific mortality and the effects of capture of cougars in bobcat traps on annual and overall (7‐year) survival during 2009–2015. We captured 48 cougars, of which we followed 33 until death. We estimated average annual survival rates for adult cougars and assessed the relative effects of sex, season, and long‐term effects of non‐target capture of cougars in foothold traps on estimated survival of adults using a nest survival model in Program MARK. We incorporated a time‐varying covariate to assess the long‐term effect of capture in non‐target foothold traps on survival of adult cougars. Average annual survival of non‐trapped females and males, regardless of trapping history, was significantly greater than females with a history of capture in a non‐target foothold trap; however, once partitioned across age, sex, and capture status, sample sizes were small. Our results suggest that capture in non‐target foothold traps decreases survival of adult female cougars directly by causing injuries that eventually result in mortality, and indirectly by increasing susceptibility to other forms of mortality. Mortality of adult females during the 7 years of our study caused by non‐target trapping was similar to hunting among radio‐marked female cougars, and this potential source of mortality has been unaccounted for in harvest objectives and harvest data for cougars without radio‐collars. Given anthropogenic sources of mortality accounted for 100% of recorded mortality of adult females, mortality from non‐target trapping is likely additive to other sources of mortality in our study area. We recommend regulatory agencies consider the possibility of unintentional take and potential for reduced long‐term survival of females where these large fields are sympatric with bobcats, and trapping of bobcats with foothold traps is a legal activity. Moreover, we suggest wildlife managers record information about the trapping incident, to include trap type, trap size, trap set type, location, number of days since last check, and type and severity of injuries when releasing incidentally captured cougars to inform future management decisions. Addressing other anthropogenic sources of mortality resulting from conflict with humans and road mortalities will be increasingly important as the human population expands into cougar habitat. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of cougars caught in non‐target foothold traps and snares

et al. 2018

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“…Details of the trapping and tagging program have been described in detail elsewhere (Ó Néill et al 2007(Ó Néill et al , 2008. The trapping technique yielded a remarkably high trapping rate of 8.4 trap-nights per otter, or 1.7 (SD=0.9) nights per capture at successful sites.…”

Section: Biotelemetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ranging behaviour and socio-biology of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) on lowland mesotrophic river systems

Néill

Veldhuizen

Jongh³

et al. 2009

Eur J Wildl Res

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We examined the spatial structure and sociobiology of a native wild population of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) on mesotrophic rivers in a mild temperate climate. Radio-tracking of 20 individuals revealed exclusive intra-sexual adult home-ranges. Adult female homeranges (7.5 km, SD=1.5 km, n=7) were inversely related to river width (R 2 adj ¼ 0:68, F 6 = 13.5, P=0.014) and so appeared to be based on food resources. The aquatic area within adult male home-ranges (30.2 ha, SD=9.5 ha, n=5) was greater than that within adult female's (16.8 ha, SD= 7.0 ha) (t 10 = 2.437, P= 0.035), though this result is inconclusive because some males were tracked on oligotrophic rivers. One adult male expanded its range from 10.2 km to 19.3 km within 5 days of the death of the neighbouring male, suggesting that male home-ranges were heavily influenced by conspecifics.

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“…4) Establishment of an on-site veterinary clinic with personnel that can respond to potential injuries in the field and care for short-and long-term patients (operated by the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Arcata, CA). 5) Finally, a trap monitoring system would be developed to reduce extended exposure in traps, and allow staff to quickly attend to sprung locations, dramatically reducing the chance of injury (Larkin et al 2003, Ó Néill et al 2007). The primary motivation for this monitoring system was to reduce potential fox injuries and casualties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Trap Monitoring System to Enhance Efficiency of Feral Cat Eradication and Minimize Adverse Effects on Non-Target Endemic Species on San Nicolas Island

Will¹,

Hanson²,

Campbell³

et al. 2010

vertebrate_pest_conference

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Feral cats have significant negative impacts on island ecosystems and are a major threat to resident seabird populations. In an attempt to restore populations of Brandt's Cormorants, western gulls, and other native species on San Nicolas Island, California, feral cats were targeted for eradication. In over 83 successful feral cat eradications from islands, removal by padded leg-hold traps was the most commonly used eradication technique. However, the size of San Nicolas, 5,896 ha (14,562 acres) and the presence of >600 diminutive (average 1.7 kg) endemic island fox presented challenges. A telemetry-based trap monitoring system was developed to remotely check trap status, decrease staff time spent checking traps, and decrease response time to captured animals to limit fox injuries and mortalities due to exposure. This system enabled a team of 6 staff to maintain daily checks of approximately 250 traps and have a response time to captures of <60 minutes during daylight hours. Field staff were trained to assess fox health in the field, and a mobile veterinary hospital was established on island to treat any injuries. The trap monitoring system was composed of transmitter units connected to traps, an island-wide repeater system, a GIS database with field PDA data collection, and a user interface hosted on a local internet network. When activated, each transmitter sent a trapspecific ID code every 4 hours, indicating it was operational. When sprung, a modified ID code was transmitted every 30 minutes until the trap transmitter was reset. Repeaters relayed trap status data, both to a dedicated PC where a set of scripts filtered the raw data to find capture events, and simultaneously to the internet. A web-based software user interface was designed to combine capture events with location information from a GIS database, allowing field staff to quickly identify which traps were sprung and plan the most effective route between all sprung traps. Ultimately, this system was a powerful adaptive management tool that increased staff efficiency and minimized effects on non-target species.

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Minimizing Leg‐Hold Trapping Trauma for Otters With Mobile Phone Technology

Cited by 23 publications

References 10 publications

Survival of cougars caught in non‐target foothold traps and snares

Survival of cougars caught in non‐target foothold traps and snares

Ranging behaviour and socio-biology of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) on lowland mesotrophic river systems

A Trap Monitoring System to Enhance Efficiency of Feral Cat Eradication and Minimize Adverse Effects on Non-Target Endemic Species on San Nicolas Island

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