In the News

Authors

Joe N. Caudell, Purdue UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

Spring 2011

Document Type

Article

Citation

Human–Wildlife Interactions (Spring 2011) 5(1): article 1

doi: 10.26077/pxf0-k537

Comments

United States government work. Public domain

Abstract

In November, 2010, State Farm Insurance released its annual Deer Hit Study. The average likelihood of a vehicle striking a deer, moose, or elk within the next 12 months is 1 in 183 nationally. There has been a 21% increase in deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) over the past 5 years, even though the number of miles traveled by U.S. drivers has increased by only 2%. There has also been a 1.7% increase in the cost of repairs to vehicles that struck deer over the past year, with repairs averaging $3,103 per vehicle.

Collision with vehicles ranks as the greatest threat to the endangered Florida panther, according to the National Parks Traveler. To mitigate the problem, Florida plans to install a monitoring system that will alert drivers that they are approaching a panther. Wildlife officials believe that reducing panther–vehicle collisions in the area could have a significant positive effect on the panther population.

Feral hogs are a nuisance throughout a large portion of the United States. They damage cornfields, pastures, wildlife habitat, and, now, the lawns of suburbanites. As their populations expand, the hogs inevitably will begin causing problems for homeowners in suburban areas, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The state of Texas encouraged feral swine control by declaring October “Hog Out Month” and by holding a “Get the Hogs Out of Texas” contest that will award a $25,000 grant to the county that removed the highest number of hogs by the end of the month. In Detroit, Michigan, escaped hogs from boar-hunting refuges have been turning up in the outskirts of the city. As hog populations continue to expand throughout the United States, problems with urban hogs are expected to increase.

Although attacks by mountain goats are rare and considered highly unusual, they are not unheard of. The Discovery Press reported a mountain goat attack that left a hiker dead in Olympic National Park (ONP) in Washington State. Park officials shot the animal after they observed blood on its horns. The goat that attacked Boardman was submitted for necropsy.

The Litchfield Country Times reported that moose (Alces alces) sightings are on the rise in Connecticut. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is warning motorists to use additional caution because several moose have been sighted or killed near roadways.