Changing Wildlife Patterns

[RayIN]

can't imagine what part of the food chain they are, but ticks & chiggers have also declined over the yrs. not sorry to see them go.

Turkey ticks are still going strong. Actually they are baby spiders and are found in clusters when working/logging in a forest. You don't know you've been exposed until you feel and see the red rash all over your body, it's painful.

 

[BackRoad]

It's said hogs are not far off from humans (example is using pig heart valves for replacement surgery - at least in the past).

I wonder why they've not developed a birth control solution for feral pigs...seems like the economic impact would make it justifiable.

 

[RayIN]

It's pretty well documented that the over-harvesting of beavers in North America in the 1800's was a major factor in how everything is mucked up today in regards to wetlands, waterfowl, etc...

In my lifetime I've seen 3 pair of beavers around here. One pair made home in an old lake; a few weeks later they both were in the road dead. A second pair met the same fate.
One pair dammed up a creek and I could stop along the highway and watch them. A month later the dam was gone and the beavers.

 

[Eagle1]

It's said hogs are not far off from humans (such as using pig valve replacements at least in the past)

I wonder why they've not developed a birth control solution for feral pigs...seems like the economic impact would make it justifiable.

Having people shot them is much much cheaper. In some case fancy hunts add a lot to the economy. Besides how much do you think hunter spend every year on better tech, ammo or weapons.
In MO the feds and state pay trappers and helicopter shooters to hunt them. NOT cheap.

Here is the only product I know about....
HogStop Bait – Feral Hog Birth Control

 

[RayIN]

A new word that's been introduced to my vocabulary by my biology student kid in recent years..

extirpation

extinction and extirpation
Extinction is the complete disappearance of a species from the earth. Extirpation is the complete disappearance (elimination) of a species from a given region, island, or area.

For example, turkeys were extirpated from Indiana in the early 1900s due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting.

Today we have so many turkey and deer; DNR imported and released many pair of bobcat. Guess what? Bobcat discovered a farmers young calf is much easier to catch than deer or turkey.

 

[RayIN]

Having people shot them is much much cheaper. In some case fancy hunts add a lot to the economy. Besides how much do you think hunter spend every year on better tech, ammo or weapons.
In MO the feds and state pay trappers and helicopter shooters to hunt them. NOT cheap.

Here is the only product I know about....
HogStop Bait – Feral Hog Birth Control

In S. Indiana some row-crop farmers pay shooters to eliminate all they can on their farm. Bounty is collected by turning in ears.
If anyone tries to cook and eat wild hog_do not shoot a boar-they're nasty tasting.

I was told wild hogs can ruin 2 acres of new beans/corn overnight.

 

[Eagle1]

probably flawed thinking....but all the Covid vaccines were amazingly effective & developed rapidly. with that kind of technology, why can't a feral swine flu be developed for that specific genome & inoculated into herds?

but as mentioned, being so close to humans, probably not feasible at this point.
even shooting or trapping a few makes no difference on their population on my mountain.

I would not call them effective or safe (my opinion), but either case could you guarantee it would not jump species or get into the domestics herd.
Second if shooting and trapping is missing so many how would we inoculate them?
Blanket poisons would work but what wold be the rate of unintended kills?

Studies show you have to kill 80% of them to keep the population stable, any less and they out breed the killing rate.

So far my pack of LGDs make it too hot for them hang around for any length of time. After a chase or 2 they move to quieter digs.

 

[MossRoad]

Today we have so many turkey and deer; DNR imported and released many pair of bobcat. Guess what? Bobcat discovered a farmers young calf is much easier to catch than deer or turkey.

If you're talking about Indiana, they never released bobcats. They were on the endangered species list from 1969-2005. They've since done so well that Indiana is considering opening a bobcat trapping season in 40 counties with a quota of 250.

Natural Resources Commission seeks input on proposed bobcat trapping rules

The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has opened public comment for proposed changes to allow the limited, regulated trapping of bobcats. In March, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation (SEA 241-2024) that directs the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to have...

events.in.gov

 

[RayIN]

If you're talking about Indiana, they never released bobcats. They were on the endangered species list from 1969-2005. They've since done so well that Indiana is considering opening a bobcat trapping season in 40 counties with a quota of 250.

Natural Resources Commission seeks input on proposed bobcat trapping rules

The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has opened public comment for proposed changes to allow the limited, regulated trapping of bobcats. In March, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation (SEA 241-2024) that directs the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to have...

events.in.gov

I remember in the 1980's DNR released breeding pairs of bobcat and rattlesnakes on Crane Naval Weapons Support Center.
BTW, we have black bear on Crane too.
Sadly no Bison. A friends great grandfather told him when he arrived in Indiana, the wagons had to stop and wait 3 days for a herd to pass before they could continue.

 

[MossRoad]

I remember in the 1980's DNR released breeding pairs of bobcat and rattlesnakes on Crane Naval Weapons Support Center.
BTW, we have black bear on Crane too.
Sadly no Bison. A friends great grandfather told him when he arrived in Indiana, the wagons had to stop and wait 3 days for a herd to pass before they could continue.

The Indiana DNR has NEVER released rattlesnakes into the wild. They have trapped and tagged them, then released them, but the whole thing about snakes and bobcats being released at Crane are a myth.

Rattlesnakes dropped by DNR from helicopters; nope, it didn't happen

Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently posted on its website, a list of several myths related to the department and the...

outdoorscribe.blogspot.com

As for bears...

As of 2021, there had only been four (4) confirmed bear sightings in Indiana since the one in 1871!

Black bears (Ursus americanus) were historically abundant across Indiana, excluding the northwest portions of the state dominated by prairie. Unregulated hunting and habitat loss caused black bears to be extirpated from Indiana and much of the Midwest by 1850. Today, black bear populations are expanding and they may pass through Indiana from established populations in adjacent states. In recent years, four black bears have been confirmed (2015, 2016, 2018, 2021) in Indiana.

There are no confirmed bears at Crane.

For anyone that's not familiar with Crane...

Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division​

The base is the third largest naval installation in the world, comprising approximately 280 square kilometers (110 sq mi) of territory. Lake Greenwood, a 320-hectare (790-acre) lake, is entirely encompassed by the base. White oak wood for reconstruction of USS Constitution is harvested at this base from a grove of trees known as "Constitution Grove".