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    Predation ID Manual: Predator Kill and Scavenging Characteristics
    Predation ID Manual: Predator Kill and Scavenging Characteristics
    Predation ID Manual: Predator Kill and Scavenging Characteristics
    Ebook127 pages58 minutes

    Predation ID Manual: Predator Kill and Scavenging Characteristics

    By Kurt Alt and Matthew Eckert

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    About this ebook

    Part of the challenges and rewards of being a field biologist is being able recreate a predation event. But that experience is often difficult and frustrating, as time, weather, and other factors can be make clues sparse. Even the most careful of investigators can spend hours of time second-guessing themselves while exhausting every possibility from inconclusive evidence.

    The Predation ID Manual is designed to help assuage some of those difficulties by providing the reader with practical, expert advice, including:

    • A step-by-step approach for gathering evidence.
    • Suggestions of what to focus on at carcass site
    • A template of terminology to use when classifying a predation
    • A guide for investigating and determining signs of hemorrhage
    • Signs of kill and kill sites by species, including deer, elk, and lynx
    • And dozens more tips

    With a waterproof cover and sturdy pages, the SCIF’s Predation ID Manual is a must have for every serious hunter and field biologist.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSkyhorse
    Release dateOct 17, 2017
    ISBN9781510722422
    Predation ID Manual: Predator Kill and Scavenging Characteristics
    Author

    Kurt Alt

    Kurt Alt worked from 1975 until his retirement in 2010 as a wildlife biologist for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Department of Montana. He has also collaborated with biologists from all over the world on hunting and conservation schemes. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.

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      Book preview

      Predation ID Manual - Kurt Alt

      Cover Page of Predation ID ManualHalf Title of Predation ID ManualTitle Page of Predation ID Manual

      Copyright © 2017 Kurt Alt and Matthew Eckert

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

      Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

      Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

      Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

      Cover design by Tom Lau

      Cover photo credits: iStockphoto

      Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2251-4

      Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2242-2

      Printed in China

      Contents

      Purpose

      Acknowledgments

      Preface

      Introduction

      I. Systematic Field Investigation of a Kill Site

      GET ORGANIZED

      SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

      PHASE 1. INITIAL OVERVIEW OF CARCASS SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA

      PHASE 2. FOCUS ON CARCASS AND IMMEDIATE CARCASS SITE

      a) Time of Death

      b) Condition at Time of Death

      c) Natural Death and Minimal Scavenging

      d) Ruling Out Other Predators

      e) Human-Caused Death

      f) Hair, Scats, and Tracks

      g) Table 1. Summary of Kill Site Characteristics

      PHASE 3. INVESTIGATE CARCASS FOR SIGNS OF HEMORRHAGING

      h) Hemorrhaging

      i) Canine Measurements

      PHASE 4. SUMMARIZING ALL EVIDENCE AND THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIPS

      PHASE 5. WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE AND EVENT CLASSIFICATION

      Figure 1. Key to the Likelihood of a Predation Event

      Figure 2. Key to the Probability of Species Specific Predation

      II. Characteristics of Kill and Kill Site by Species

      Cougar (Puma concolor)

      Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)

      Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

      Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

      Coyote (Canis latrans)

      Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

      Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

      Wolverine (Gulo gulo)

      III. Literature Cited

      IV. Appendix A

      V. Appendix B

      VI. Appendix C

      VII. Appendix D

      Purpose

      THIS FIELD MANUAL is designed to help anyone determine whether an animal was killed by a large predator and which species was involved with the predation event.

      It intends to improve the accuracy of identifying the predator responsible for killing an animal.

      It intends to improve consistency among those using this manual when investigating predation events.

      It intends to clarify and define the terminology used in classifying a predation event.

      Ultimately, this manual intends to improve our understanding of predator-prey relationships, to inform science-based wildlife management decisions.

      Acknowledgments

      SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL Foundation (SCIF) and the SCIF Hunter Legacy Fund sponsored the production and publication of this manual, demonstrating one of the many contributions hunter-supported conservation organizations have made to wildlife research and management.

      Dr. Jerry Belant, Dr. Harold Picton, Jim Hammill, Dr. Bob Inman, and Dr. Jon Swenson provided key insight and review of portions of this manual. We thank Dr. James Halfpenny for key final content edits and graciously allowing the inclusion of thirteen pages from his 1986 publication, A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America.

      We thank those field professionals who from their years of experience, unselfishly and collectively contributed the content for this manual, providing a useful tool for those in the field conducting wildlife management and research. The basic knowledge and insight found in this manual was contributed from the following wildlife professionals:

      •   Matthew Lewis, Director of Conservation, Safari Club

      •   Bryan Aber, Carnivore Biologist, ID Fish and Game

      •   Liz Bradley, Species Management Specialist, MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MTFWP)

      •   Mark Bruscino, Large Carnivore Program Supervisor, WY Game and Fish

      •   Peggy Callahan, Executive Director, Wildlife Science Center, MN

      •   Kevin Frey, Species Management Specialist, MTFWP

      •   Steve Gullage, Senior Programs Manager, Conservation Visions Inc.

      •   Dr. Al Harmata, Affiliate Faculty, Montana State University

      •   Ben Jimenez, Bitterroot Elk Ecology Project, MTFWP

      •   Jamie Jonkel, Species Management Specialist, MTFWP

      •   Nathan Lance, Species Management Specialist, MTFWP

      •   Larry Lewis, Wildlife Technician & Fish and Game Peace Officer, AK Fish and Game

      •   Shane Mahoney, President and CEO, Conservation Visions Inc.

      •   Tim Manley, Species Management Specialist, MTFWP

      •   Dr. Kerry Murphy, District Biologist, Bridger Teton NF, US Forest Service

      •   Abigail Nelson, Species Management Specialist, MTFWP

      •   Dr. Jennifer Ramsey, DVM, Wildlife Veterinarian, MTFWP

      •   Dr. Tom Roffe, DVM PhD, Chief of Wildlife Health, US Fish and Wildlife Service

      •   Mike Ross, Species Management Specialist, MTFWP

      •   Dr. Toni Ruth, Research Scientist, Selway Institute

      •   Dr. Doug Smith, Wolf Research Project Leader, Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service

      •   Dr. Frank van Manen, Supervisory Research Wildlife Biologist, Team Leader Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, US Geological Survey

      •   Jennifer Vashon, Wildlife Biologist, Species Specialist for lynx and black bear, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

      Preface

      Understanding the relationships between predators and prey is essential for wildlife managers to make science-based decisions with managing wildlife.

      —Shane Mahoney, personal communication

      OUR UNDERSTANDING OF predator-prey dynamics is often limited by our inability to accurately identify

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