FORWARD -- Scott Craven
1999 Wildlife Damage Management
Chair: Scott Craven (608) 263-6325, fax (608) 262-6099, srcraven@facstaff.wisc.edu Chair Elect: Robert Timm (707) 744-1424, fax (707) 744-1040, rmtimm@ucdavis.edu Past Chair: Scott Hygnstrom (402) 472-6822, fax (402) 472-2964, shygnstr@unlinfo.unl.edu Sec/Tres Gary Witmer (970) 416-4555, fax (970) 416-4501, gary.w.witmer@usda.gov
Board Members
Bill Andelt (970) 491-7093, fax (970) 491-5091, billan@cnr.colostate.edu
Russ Mason (435) 797-1348, mason@cc.usu.edu
Dale Rollins (915) 653-4576, fax (915) 658-4364, d-rollins@tamu.edu
Gary San Julian (814) 863-3439, jgs9@psu.edu
Robert Schmidt (435) 797-2536, fax (435) 797-1871, rschmidt@cc.usu.edu
Becky Stout (501) 671-2285, fax (501) 671-2185, rstout@uaex.edu
Newsletter Editor:
Art Smith (608) 263-5687, fax (608) 262-6099, aesmith1@facstaff.wisc.edu
The first order of business is a big thank you to our recent slate of candidates for Working Group leadership. There were several very, very close races, including one that was decided by a coin toss with the consent of both candidates. The current officers are listed on the next column of this newsletter. All officers have been contacted and are awaiting opportunities to serve. Don't hesitate to contact any of us with ideas, needs, and concerns.
Plans have been made for the next Working Group meeting at the Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Austin. Details of time and location will appear in the Conference program. Note that the Working Group is sponsoring 2 sessions this year. Session summaries can be found on the next page.
The technical manual "Managing Canada Geese in Urban Environments" is now available. I'm very pleased with the manual's content, appearance, and the reception it has received. It represents a team effort and is a tangible product of the Working Group.
TWS President James Miller has asked me to Chair a committee to prepare a Position Statement on feral cats. The committee is working on the issue but if any Working Group members would like to offer comments or help in some other way, please contact me. I think the issue of feral cat predation falls within the interests of the Working Group.
That's all from here for now! Have a great spring.
In this issue:
- 1999 Working Group Officer List
- TWS 6th Annual Conf. Working Group Symposiums
- Working Group Sponsored Urban Goose Techniques Manual & Video Availability Announcement
- International Member's Contribution
Newsletter Editor: Art Smith (608) 263-5687, fax (608) 262-6099, aesmith1@facstaff.wisc.edu CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Thanks to the following individuals for contributing to this issue: Oscar Aalangdong, Scott Craven, Sydni Gillette, Angela Mertig, and a belated thanks to Dave Williams for his contribution to the last issue.
TWS 6th Annual Conference Working Group Sponsored Sessions
At the upcoming annual TWS conference in Austin, TX, the Wildlife Damage Management Working Group will be sponsoring 2 paper sessions. Both cover timely and important topics and your attendance will be welcome.
Bats represent a unique and diverse group of mammals that are a treasured natural resource. However, they are often misunderstood by a large segment of the public. Some species, most notably the big brown and little brown bats, are commonly found in houses and other dwellings that provide easy access to roost sites. Conflicts that arise when bats occupy dwellings can often be traced to poor carpentry or aging buildings. Various means of exclosure can usually be applied to resolve such problems.
Rabies in bats continues to have a major influence in shaping public health policy. The challenge to the wildlife professional is to promote bat conservation while helping resolve conflicts and providing input for sound public health policy.The purpose of this symposium is to stimulate discussion and debate on bat conservation programs and initiatives, conflicts and public health policy. The first half of the symposium will provide overviews of bat conservation and the types of conflicts that occur between bats and people. Methods to address conflicts will be discussed. The second half of this symposium will focus specifically on the merits of contemporary rabies control strategies.
"Improving Public Perception and Understanding of Wildlife Damage Management" Organizer: Art Smith, Dept. of Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Urban sprawl combined with the surprising ability of many animal species to thrive in human dominated landscapes, have increased the number and severity of
This symposium will provide wildlife biologists with a well rounded review of the status of wildlife damage education. The symposium will include background on wildlife damage management, utility of successful techniques, analysis and advice on past wildlife damage educational efforts, and a final assessment of the feasibility of educating citizens on wildlife damage issues.
The speakers represent multi-disciplinary backgrounds including: USDA Wildlife Services, Extension Service, animal welfare, university researchers, state natural resources, and product marketing.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE
18TH VERTEBRATE PEST CONFERENCE
held March 2-5, 1998 in Costa Mesa, CA
are now available
For those who were unable to attend this outstanding and very interesting conference, you can now find out what you missed!
The cost for the paperback proceedings (433 pages) is: $25.00 plus $4.00 for shipping/handling (U.S.); $7 surface or $13 air mail for international orders. Postal or other money orders are acceptable, credit cards are not (checks must be drawn on U.S. bank in U.S. funds). Checks should be made payable to:
VERTEBRATE PEST CONFERENCE
c/o T.P. Salmon, Bus. Mgr.
DANR: North Region
University of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8575
A new 42-page guide, Managing Canada Geese in Urban Environments, (147IB243) provides information on the biology of the Canada goose, regulations covering Canada geese, management strategies and techniques. It lists equipment suppliers. A chart summarizes the management methods, including habitat modification, scaring devices, repellents, reproductive control and removal.
This manual is intended to help wildlife professionals, turf grass managers, and homeowners select appropriate management strategies to alleviate problems caused by migratory and non-migratory geese. Authored by Art Smith and Scott Craven, Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, and Paul Curtis, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, the manual is the result of collaboration by Cornell Cooperative Extension, the University of Wisconsin, the Berryman Institute, Utah State University and The Wildlife Society, Wildlife Damage Management Working Group.
The manual is complemented by the video, Suburban Goose Management: Searching for Balance, (147VSGM) which tells why geese are attracted to suburban neighborhoods and how they can be discouraged from nesting in communities. It covers goose biology and takes viewers into the heart of this controversial topic while offering a critical look at current management techniques from traditional to new methods. The video was produced by Paul Curtis and Gary Ingraham, Media and Technology Services, Cornell University.
These educational resources are available from the Cornell University Media and Technology Services Resource Center, 7 BTP, Ithaca, N.Y. 14850, (607) 255-5830, fax (607) 255-9873. The publication and video are $10.00 and $19.95, respectively, which includes S&H. Quantity discounts are available. Costs are payable by purchase orders, Mastercard and Visa; Checks should be payable to Cornell University.
RENEWED YOUR 1999 TWS MEMBERSHIP YET? ?
Have you renewed your TWS (and WDMWG) membership yet? If not, this may be the last newsletter you will receive. To prevent this tragedy, please use the last page of this issue to renew your membership. Don't miss your opportunity to keep abreast with TWS and Working Gro up activities.
Wildlife Damage Management Around the World - Part 3
The following article was contributed by a member of this Working Group who lives and works outside of North America. This is the third of at least a 5--part series. My thanks to those members who have already sent in their articles, those which appeared in the last issue, and some of which will be appearing in upcoming issues.
In Ghana, wildlife damage concerns mainly agricultural crops. Wildlife has always been known to cause damage to both food and cash crops. However, the frequency and intensity of damage increase from year to year. This is because many farms are cultivated further from human settlements and damage now involves large animals like elephants. Damage of farm crops are usually associated with rodents, monkeys, birds, bush pigs and rarely antelopes. Elephant crop damage is more frequent across the country.
In some part of Northern Ghana, wildlife once posed a problem to the health of humans and domestic animals. Most of West Gonja land was uninhabitable as a result of tsetse fly infestation in the zone. Around the 1950s, government therefore initiated a wildlife (host) elimination program in the zone to rid the area of tsetse fly and make it habitable and agriculturally productive. A Game Control Division (Tsetse Control Unit) was set up to shoot ungulates in the zone. This was the first time wild animals were considered as nuisance and killed en mass to protect human interest. After the reduction, a game reserve, Mole Game Reserve, now Mole National Park, was set up in the area to protect the remnant wildlife population.
From the 1960s onwards, a new wave of wildlife damage problem emerged. This was wildlife damage to agricultural crops. The most publicized was damage to cocoa, Ghana's main export crop, by elephants. Today elephant damage has extended to food crops across the country. To curb cocoa damage, a Control Unit was set up by the Wildlife Department and stationed at Goaso, an area where most damage occurred, to control elephants. Initially, control measures involved shooting the elephants. Many elephants were killed in the 1970s and 1980s.
Species involved
Almost all wildlife are involved in crop damage in one way or the other and at different stages of growth of the crops. However species that are commonly associated with crop damage are:
1) Elephant (Loxodonta africana): causes damage to all farm crops; cocoa, plantain, banana, cocoyam, pine apple, pawpaw, cassava, yam, maize, mango, orange, and oil palm in the forest zone and maize, sorghum, millet, and yam in the savanna zone by trampling and/or eating the grains or tubers of these crops. Such damage is most common around conservation areas (Wildlife Reserves and Forest Reserves) where elephants exist. Occasionally, elephants stray in from neighboring Burkina Faso and Togo and destroy crops in and around Navrongo and Bawku District respectively, in the Upper East Region. Elephants have also strayed in from Cote d'Ivoire and destroyed crops in the Brong Ahafo Region.
2) Monkeys (baboons: Papio sp.; patas monkey: Cercopithecus sp.; green monkey Cercopithecus sp.): destroy crops such as maize, sorghum, and millet, by breaking the plants and eating the grains depending on the growth stage of the crop.
3) Rodents (grasscutter: Thryonomys swinderianus, squirrels: Epixerus spp., giant rat: Cricetomys gambianus): cause severe damage to seedlings of food crops (rice, maize, and sorghum in the North of Ghana) and cash crop (oil palm, coconut, and cocoa in the South of Ghana) by cutting the seedlings. They also eat the nuts of groundnuts, tubers of yams and cassava.
4) Ungulates: Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) destroys maize, coco, yam, okra, etc. by eating the seedlings and leaves. Bush pigs (Potamochoerus porcus) also destroy maize, sorghum, etc. by breaking the seedlings and eating the grains. They also eat the tubers of yams and cassava and nuts of groundnuts.
5) Birds: parrots (Psittacus erithacus) destroy mature maize by eating grains and fruits of economic trees. Weaver birds (Ploceus spp.) destroy maize and sorghum by eating the grains. Qualea qualea cause severe damage to rice by eating the grains. Francolins (Francolinus spp.) remove sowed seeds of groundnuts, maize, sorghum, millet during the sowing season. They also eat the grains of matured maize, sorghum, millet and tubers of yam and cassava. They also remove the nuts of groundnuts.
The intensity and frequency of damage depends on the type of crop, type of animals involved, and the distance of farms from the village.
Control
Wildlife damage is controlled on ad hoc bases and depends on the crop and resourcefulness of the farmer. Most common measures taken to minimize wildlife crop damage include the following:
1) Scaring: farmers go to fields early mornings and late evenings to scare away animals by shouting or beating drums and empty cans. Scarecrows are also mounted in farms to scare off animals.
2) Screening: seedlings of cash crops (cocoa, oil palm, coconut) are screened with chicken wire to prevent damage by rodents. Stick fences are sometimes made around farms.
3) Trapping: Usually practiced in small farms, the farmers trap at the periphery of farms in addition to other methods of control.
4) Shooting: Problem animals are scared off by shooting into the air. Permitted shooting of wildlife, especially elephants, by the Wildlife Department has been stopped. However, farmers will shoot animals that visit their farms. In most cases farmers do not obtain permits to hunt or destroy wildlife and these shootings are illegal.
5) Poisoning: farmers poison the animals, particularly francolins, by mixing seeds for planting with DDT or spraying the crops with insecticides. Most of the methods farmers adopt to prevent crop damage are not only illegal but dangerous to human health. However farmers have not been advised on appropriate methods to control wildlife damage on their crops.
Species status
There are no estimates of wildlife numbers in Ghana both in and outside conservation areas. However, it is believed (based on sighting frequency) that the number of species and species numbers in Ghana have decreased considerably as a result of habitat encroachment and poaching. Elephants are rarely seen in those areas where they caused damage to crops a few years ago, and can now only be found in national parks. Few wildlife exist outside conservation areas. Most wild animals species now fall under the threatened species category of the IUCN red data list.
Future
Wildlife damage to crops is a perennial problem in Ghana, particularly since more farms are being cultivated farther away from villages and sometimes closer to conservation areas. Encroachment of wildlife habitat have eliminated wildlife corridors and reduced their home ranges.
The future of wildlife is bleak unless the rate of wildlife habitat encroachment for agricultural purposes is reduced. Control of wildlife using illegal methods must cease. There is also the need for research to identify and quantify wildlife crop damage. New and effective methods to control wildlife damage must be developed to enable farmers increase agricultural productivity. Wildlife conservation in Ghana depends greatly on how well human-wildlife conflicts are resolved.
The student is expected to show some initiative in carving out their own particular facet of the human dimensions of land use and ecological change. Specific responsibilities will therefore partly depend upon student interest and degree level. However, the selected student should strive to develop a project that contributes to the overarching project goal of developing a model to understand and predict land use change and its ecological effects.
Plans are underway to acquire funding for a large-scale mail survey of southern Michigan landowners. Should such funding be acquired during the selected student's tenure, the student will be responsible for aiding in the design of the survey and the sampling scheme. They will also be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the survey and aiding in the data analysis.
Experience with (and coursework in) social science methods, experience with managing data, and knowledge of geographical information systems are desirable. Excellent work habits, good communication skills and an interest in working on an interdisciplinary project team are a must.
Start date is negotiable (the position is available immediately).
Interested students should send a letter of interest, transcripts, GRE scores (unofficial ones are fine initially), Vita/resume, a statement of professional goals and the names of three references to: Dr. Angela G. Mertig, Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife/Dept. of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, (517) 355-6644 or (517) 353-3201. e-mail: Mertig@pilot.msu.edu Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found.
Art Smith
Department of Wildlife Ecology
1630 Linden Dr., Rm. #226
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706
NON-PROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
MADISON, WI
PERMIT 2783
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