Effectiveness of a Warfarin-Poisoning Campaign Against Feral Pigs, Sus Scrofa, in Namadgi National Park, A.c.t.

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
JC Mcilroy ◽  
M Braysher ◽  
GA Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Radio Transmitters

The aim of this study was to develop better techniques for controlling feral pigs, Sus scrofa, in the event of an outbreak of an exotic disease than the use of 1080. Trail-baiting with warfarin-treated wheat killed 30 of 32 feral pigs carrying radio transmitters in Namadgi National Park, A.C.T., in May 1986. The casualties took 9.7 � 0.4 (mean � s.e.) days to die (range 6-14) and all died within 2.06 km of the bait trail. The two survivors (both males) were radio-located within 339 m of the poison trails several times, but then moved 5.1 and 1.5 km, respectively, out of the trial area. Home ranges averaged 4.7 � 0.6 km2 (range 0.7-22.6) and the population density was approximately 2 km-2. The pigs' mobility did not alter as death approached. They moved equal distances during the day and the night. Differences in mobility between the sexes were generally minor.

Movements of Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) at Sunny Corner, New South Wales.

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders ◽  
B Kay
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Peak Activity ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
South Wales

This study describes the movements of feral pigs at Sunny Corner in eastern New South Wales. Population density at this site was 2 pigs km-2. Twenty-two pigs (12 males and 10 females) were captured and fitted with telemetry transmitters. Aggregate home range for males (10.7 � 6.9 km2) was significantly greater than for females (4.9 � 1.4 km2) as was 24 h home range (1.4� 1.1 km2, males and 0.8 � 0.4 km2, females). Seasonal home ranges were greatest in the winter and smallest in the autumn. These differences were attributed to variations in food availability. During all seasons there was a preference for creeklines that had vegetative cover. This was the result of thermoregulatory needs, refuge availability and food supply. Peak activity throughout the study occurred between 1900 and 2400 hours with little movement during the middle of the day. The implications of these results to management programs are discussed.

Are oestrous feral pigs, Sus scrofa, useful as trapping lures?

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 605 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. McIlroy ◽  
E. J. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
General Technique ◽  
Feral Pigs

Eight feral pigs (two boars, four sows and two piglets) were caught in traps using oestrous sows as lures during a control program on a remnant pig population in part of Namadgi National Park during spring, 1990. The program was mostly based on aerial baiting with warfarin. No pigs were caught in traps containing anoestrous sows or in traps containing bait only. Seven unmarked pigs (caught seven days after the cessation of baiting) did not appear to have eaten any warfarin bait. In an earlier pilot trial, two boars were caught at a trap containing an oestrous sow, one of these again in a trap baited only with fermented grain, but no pigs were caught at a trap containing an anoestrous sow. Although not cost-effective as a general technique, this method could be useful in specific circumstances, such as eradication campaigns on islands, if the last few pigs are, or have become bait shy, or are impossible to cull by other methods.

Movements and Home Ranges of Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales.

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 711 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders ◽  
B Kay
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
National Park ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
South Wales

The movements of a subalpine population of feral pigs were examined at Kosciusko National Park in southeastern New South Wales. Sufficient data were collected to estimate the home-range area of 20 pigs on the basis of 782 telemetry and trap locations. Mean (+/- s.d.) home-range size (minimum convex polygon method) for males (35.0 t 22.2 km*2) was significantly greater than that for females (1 1.1 +/- 5.2 km*2). Use of capture-recapture distances to estimate home-range size was considered inappropriate. A test for nomadism suggests that, although home ranges of pigs in this environment were larger than those reported for other pigs in Australia, the pigs were essentially sedentary. Management implications for this population are discussed.

Seasonal Patterns in Bait Consumption by Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in the Hill Country of South-Eastern Australia.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
JC Mcilroy ◽  
EJ Gifford ◽  
RI Forrester
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Australian Capital Territory ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Autumn And Winter ◽  
The Hill

Both fermenting wheat and bran/pollard pellets were readily accepted as bait throughout the year by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in Namadgi National Park, Australian Capital Territory. Birds mainly ate wheat bait, particularly during winter. Other animals occasionally fed on both types of bait, mainly during autumn and winter. Covering baits with forest-floor litter did not significantly affect their discovery and consumption by pigs or by other animals. The proximity of the pigs to the bait line and their appetite for bait appeared to be the main factors responsible for seasonal differences in bait consumption. Trail-baiting campaigns against pigs in similar hill country areas are likely to be more effective during late autumn than other seasons because more pigs are likely to be close to the trails then and more quickly find and eat greater quantities of bait.

Population Dynamics of Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in a Tropical Riverine Habitat Complex.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 625 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Caley
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Cereal Crops ◽  
Response Model ◽  
Exponential Rate ◽  
Antecedent Rainfall ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Riverine Habitat ◽  
Density Indices

Employed mark-recapture techniques to monitor trends in the population density of feral pigs in a tropical woodland habitat containing cereal crops, and compared density indices in this habitat with other similar habitat not containing cereal crops. Over the duration of this study there was no significant trend for increase or decrease but population density fluctuated seasonally between 2.2 and 3.5 pigs kg-2 in the woodland site containing cereal crops. A numerical response model was developed relating observed exponential rate of increase of feral pigs to antecedent rainfall. The model estimated the maximum exponential rate of increase (rmax) of feral pigs to be 0.065 plus or minus 0.17 (s.e.) month-1 or 0.78 plus or minus 0.21 (s.e.) year-1. Comparison of indices of population density of feral pigs in woodland habitat with cereal crops and similar woodland habitat without cereal crops demonstrated that the presence of intensive cereal cropping increased population density of feral pigs almost 4-fold. Population density in the woodland habitat without cereal crops was estimated to be 0.8 pigs kg-2. The response to rainfall and the variation in density in response to an increase in the amount of available food is interpreted as evidence that feral pig populations are limited primarily by food availability.

The Effect of an Intensive Shooting Exercise From a Helicopter on the Behaviour of Surviving Feral Pigs.

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Dexter
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
New South ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Diel Variation ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
South Wales ◽  
North Western

The hypothesis that disturbance from a shooting exercise using a helicopter will influence the behaviour of surviving feral pigs, Sus scrofa, was tested on a population of radio-collared feral pigs in north-western New South Wales. No significant differences existed in hourly distance moved by pigs, diel variation in distance moved by pigs, or home-range size of pigs, between a radio-tracking session conducted immediately before a shooting exercise from a helicopter and a radio-tracking session conducted during and after the exercise. The position of the home ranges of feral pigs did not appear to be affected by the shooting exercise, although several radio-collared feral pigs moved into and out of the study area between tracking sessions. Overall, the results suggest that the disturbance caused by shooting has little effect on the behaviour of surviving feral pigs.

The Effectiveness of Hunting Dogs for Removing Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa).

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Caley ◽  
B Ottley
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Hunting Dogs ◽  
Significant Bias ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Rate Of Success ◽  
Small Team

The effectiveness of a small team of hunting dogs for removing feral pigs was examined in relation to group size of feral pigs encountered and the population density of pigs being hunted. Hunting dogs were successful on 88% of occasions of catching or cornering solitary pigs when encountered. This rate of success rapidly declined as the group size of encountered pigs increased, with the mean maximum number of pigs that could be caught or cornered in any one encounter estimated to be about one pig per dog. The sex ratio of mature pigs obtained from a hunted sample showed a significant bias ( X*2 = 4.3,d.f. = 1, P< 0.05) towards catching more males (M: F = 1.6: 1.0). One team of hunting dogs removed 22 of an estimated 79 pigs inhabiting a 94-km*2 area at a rate of 0.6 pigs h-*1 in 35 h of hunting. It is concluded that hunting with dogs is an effective way for removing residual pigs after densities have been reduced by other forms of control.

The ‘Judas’ Pig Technique: a Method that Could Enhance Control Programmes against Feral Pigs, Sus scrofa

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 483 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. McIlroy ◽  
E. J. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Control Programmes ◽  
Small Colony ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
To Come ◽  
Density Population ◽  
Control Exercise

The successful ‘Judas’ goat technique has been adapted for use with feral pigs. The ‘Judas’ goat technique involves releasing radio-collared goats into a control area and, after a sufficient period to allow them to join other goats, tracking them down and culling the other individuals associated with them. Trials with the technique on feral pigs in Namadgi National Park, ACT, indicated that it worked best with sows captured in the same area. Each of these sows established contact with 1–8 other pigs in the area within 1–7 days of release and was located with at least one other pig on 67–100% of occasions. In contrast, sows and boars from outside the study area took longer to come into contact with ‘local’ pigs and associated with them much less frequently. A subsequent control exercise in Namadgi, using ‘Judas’ pigs to indicate where to lay warfarin baits from a helicopter, resulted in a 75% reduction in the low-density population still present after a larger control exercise two years earlier. Since then, the technique has been used to eradicate a small colony of feral pigs in central Australia and is proving successful for control of feral pigs and other ungulates in other parts of Australia and New Zealand.

Migration of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in rainforests of north Queensland: fact or fiction?

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mitchell ◽  
W. Dorney ◽  
R. Mayer ◽  
J. McIlroy
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Community Perception ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Altitudinal Migration ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Mean

The Wet Tropics bioregion of north Queensland has been identified as an area of global significance. The world-heritage-listed rainforests have been invaded by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) that are perceived to cause substantial environmental damage. A community perception exists of an annual altitudinal migration of the feral-pig population. The present study describes the movements of 29 feral pigs in relation to altitudinal migration (highland, transitional and lowland areas). Feral pigs were sedentary and stayed within their home range throughout a 4-year study period. No altitudinal migration was detected; pigs moved no more than a mean distance of 1.0 km from the centre of their calculated home ranges. There was no significant difference between the mean (±95% confidence interval) aggregate home ranges for males (8.7 ± 4.3 km2, n = 15) and females (7.2 ± 1.8 km2, n = 14). No difference in home range was detected among the three altitudinal areas: 7.2 ± 2.4 km2 for highland, 6.2 ± 3.9 km2 for transitional and 9.9 ± 5.3 km2 for lowland areas. The aggregate mean home range for all pigs in the present study was 8.0 ± 2.4 km2. The study also assessed the influence seasons had on the home range of eight feral pigs on the rainforest boundary; home ranges did not significantly vary in size between the tropical wet and dry seasons, although the mean home range in the dry season (7.7 ± 6.9 km2) was more than twice the home range in the wet season (2.9 ± 0.8 km2). Heavier pigs tended to have larger home ranges. The results of the present study suggest that feral pigs are sedentary throughout the year so broad-scale control techniques need to be applied over sufficient areas to encompass individual home ranges. Control strategies need a coordinated approach if a long-term reduction in the pig population is to be achieved.

Sex Ratio, Population Density and Home Range of the Desert Monitor (Varanus griseus) in the Southern Coastal Plain of Israel

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Stanner ◽  
Heinrich Mendelssohn
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Sand Dune ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Tel Aviv ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
One Year ◽  
Dune Area

AbstractDuring a two-year study of the desert monitor (Varanus griseus) in a sand dune area south of the greater Tel Aviv area 21 adult monitors (8 males and 13 females) were captured and marked. Nine of the above monitors were equipped with radio transmitters, and were followed telemetrically for one year. The telemetered monitors maintained definite home ranges: 0.984 ± 0.165 km2, n = 4 for males and 0.319 ± 0.18 km2, n = 5 for females. The home range areas increased with the number of locations, reaching maxima after 30-70 locations. A considerable overlap of home ranges, between and within sexes, indicated that the species is not territorial. Varanus griseus forages over distances of 2 km or more. These forays often take the lizard through several habitats: unstabilized dunes, dense vegetation, construction areas, ruderal areas and a municipal garbage dump. A sex ratio of 1:1.6 (males:females) differs from that found in many previous Varanus studies.

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