Conservation

A Biologist's Perspective on Trappers: You Can Always Count On 'em!

New Hampshire is fortunate to have a group of sportsmen and women who are passionate about wildlife, conservation and their sport like no other group I have known in three decades as a wildlife biologist in the Granite State. They are this state’s trappers.

CSI Wilderness: Researchers use predator spit to ID kill sites

A newly released study aims to utilize DNA extraction from saliva at prey kill sites to help identify predator species. Of an acquired 53 recent hare kills, researchers managed to get positive IDs on 31 of them. Laurel Peelle’s research is published in the September 2019 Wildlife Society Bulletin.

Biologists again seek assistance from NH trappers on tissue sampling

After successful fundraising efforts from a dedicated group of local hunters, the NH Wildlife Heritage Foundation secured funding for a comprehensive study to investigate distemper (CDV) impacts on New Hampshire’s furbearers last year. The department initially requested turn-in of carcasses from grey foxes hunted or trapped during the legal hunting and trapping seasons. This year, that study has now expanded to include a desire for carcasses from both Red and Grey Fox, as well as Fisher.

Louisiana: Report your sightings of Eastern Spotted Skunk!

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is asking for the public’s help in gathering information on the eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius). Anyone who sees the unique species is asked to report the sighting to LDWF. The sightings can be from roadkill, game cameras or inadvertent catch from fur trapping, according to the agency’s press release.

Conservancy curbs coyote abundance with bid to save sea turtles

Staff members with the Bald Head Island Conservancy worked through the summer to ward off hungry coyotes on sea turtle nests with non-lethal hazing techniques unsuccessfully. The Conservancy now turns to trappers to assist with managing abundant predator populations to conserve endangered species.