Center, Internet, Wildlife Damage Management
Human–Wildlife Interactions
In the News
Date of this Version
Fall 2013
Document Type
Article
Citation
Human–Wildlife Interactions (Fall 2013) 7(2): article 1
doi: 10.26077/txe9-ra91
Special topic: Sage-grouse
Abstract
No easy answers for declining Minnesota moose numbers
In Minnesota, the moose (Alces alces; Figure 1) population has dwindled to about 4,000, nearly half its population in the state since 2005, the Minneapolis StarTribune reported. To help insure the iconic animal’s survival, the state listed the moose as a “species of special concern.” While Minnesota moose are migrating northward to western North Dakota, in Maine they are migrating southward toward Massachusetts.
Feral hog menace invades Dallas
Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species that threaten human health and agricultural resources; they are spreading rapidly throughout the United States. An estimated 15,000 hogs roam in George Bush Park just outside of Houston, Texas, according to a park official.
Badger harvest in England sparks tempers
A trial cull of badger (Melis melis) in Somerset and Gloucestershire, England, this summer initiated a standoff between preservationists and farmers who hired sharpshooters to hunt them, the New York Times reported. An American badger (Taxidea taxus), close relative to the European variety, is pictured in Figure 2.
Wind farms caused 67 eagle deaths in 5 years, report says
A recent study appearing in the Journal of Raptor Research and reported by the Associated Press, noted that at least 67 eagles in the United States have been killed by wind energy facilities in the past 5 years; many of the birds were golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos; Figure 3). The number of raptor deaths caused by wind farms since 1997, the report stated, is estimated to be >85 birds.
Beavers save the bay
When Chevron Oil Company leaked 27,000 gallons of diesel fuel into Willard Bay State Park, Utah, a beaver (Castor canadensis) dam blocked most of the oil from entering the soil and marshes, the Associated Press reported. The spill, which occurred in March 2013, was the third one in Utah since 2010, and federal authorities have barred Chevron from reopening its pipeline pending government approval.
Deer consume 4,000 heads (lettuce)
A farmer in Yarmouth, Maine, recently began experiencing an unprecedented amount of deer damage to his lettuce crop, according to a report from the Portland Press Herald. Johnson Farms supplies milk to retail chains, including Culvers and Dairy Queen. Deer have caused a 15% loss to the crops, which they estimate amounts to >$200,000 in damage.
Comments
United States government work. Public domain