Visitation to Cottonseed Storage Sites by Feral Swine and Evidence of Gossypol Exposure

Authors

Tyler A. Campbell, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Sarah Bullock, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
David B. Long, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife ServicesFollow
David G. Hewitt, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research InstituteFollow
Michael Dowd, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center

Date of this Version

Spring 2010

Comments

Published in Human–Wildlife Interactions 4(1):145–151, Spring 2010.

Abstract

Texas ranks first in U.S. cotton production, and southern Texas is a major region of production within the state. Within Kleberg County, for example, approximately 16,147 ha are planted in cotton annually, yielding approximately 68,200 bales, or 15,467 metric tons, of cotton (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] 2009). Cotton producers have discovered new uses for cotton ginned by-products, such as hydro-mulch (Holt et al. 2005) used as a protein supplement for range livestock (DelCurto et al. 2000) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; Cooper 2006). Because of this, much of the materials are temporarily stored for later use.