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.

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.

The Demography of Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 559 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
New South ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Protein Food ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Postnatal Mortality ◽  
Alpine Population ◽  
Autumn And Winter

The demography of a sub-alpine population of feral pigs was examined at Kosciusko National Park in south-eastern New South Wales. Reproductive data and age structures indicated a seasonal pattern of breeding, most births occurring in summer and autumn. It is proposed that a decreasing availability of high protein food in the autumn and winter months caused reduced rates of conception. Sows produced 0.84 litters per year with postnatal mortality as high as 85%. The population appeared relatively stable at a density of 1.6 pigs kg-2. Hunting, although illegal in a national park, removed 4.4-15.4% of pigs each year. The overall health and body condition of pigs was good, with no evidence of heavy parasitic burdens or disease. Age-specific body weight and body length in this study were greater than those reported for pigs in semi-arid wester New South Wales.

Evaluation of a Warfarin Poisoning Programme for Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa).

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 525 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders ◽  
B Kay ◽  
B Parker
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Programme Cost ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Initial Control

A warfarin poisoning programme to control feral pigs was evaluated on agricultural land in eastern Australia between July and September, 1987. The estimated total population before the poisoning programme was 189 pigs within the 94.4 km2 study area. Poisoned and free-fed bait was offered initially at 69 sites and over a period of 57 days. Only two pregnant sows were believed to have survived the programme which was equivalent to a 98.9% reduction. As a result of breeding and re-invasion a further 38 pigs were removed in the 12 months after the control programme. Cost of initial control was $A39 per pig while cost of maintenance control was $A47 per pig.

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.

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.

A study of dung decay and plot size for surveying feral pigs using dung counts

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Hone ◽  
Warren Martin
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Correlation Analysis ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Partial Correlation ◽  
Partial Correlation Analysis ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Plot Size ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Survey Accuracy

The effects of dung decay and plot size on counts of dung pellets of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) were investigated in south-eastern Australia. Greater understanding of both could potentially improve survey accuracy and field interpretation of dung counts by managers. Dung pellets persisted for up to 16 months, with over 50% disappearance within 2–5 months, depending on season. The long persistence suggests the need for caution in infering recent presence of feral pigs from the presence of intact pig dung. Partial correlation analysis showed the survival rate of pellets during the first month to be significantly negatively correlated with measures of temperature and rainfall in the month. There was a significant (P < 0.005) interaction of plot size, over the range 5–20 m2, and month on the average number of pellets per square metre per month, and a significant (P < 0.01) effect of year on average counts. The largest plot size always detected at least one dung pellet but smaller plots did not.

An Ecological Study of Sminthopsis carasicaudata (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae) III.* Reproduction and Life History.

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Morton
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
National Park ◽  
Ecological Study ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Sminthopsis Crassicaudata ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Invertebrate Animals ◽  
Autumn And Winter

Reproduction in Sminthopsis crassicaudata was studied at three sites in south-eastern Australia: Werribee, Vic., Fowlers Gap Station, N.S.W., and Willandra National Park, N.S.W. At Werribee, the breeding season covered the period July-February. Individual females attempted to raise two litters during this season; there was no significant difference between the numbers of young weaned from first and second litters. Some females bred in two seasons, but it is unlikely that any males did so. At Fowlers Gap Station, breeding occurred in the same months as at Werribee, but there was variation between years in the onset of reproduction. At Willandra National Park, breeding occurred in the period June-December. There was no evidence of unseasonal, opportunistic breeding at either of these sites. As judged by pit-trapping, populations of invertebrate animals peaked in summer at Fowlers Gap Station, and probably at Werribee. Changes in weight and fat reserves also suggest that autumn and winter were periods of depressed food supply. The adaptive significance of the double-litter system and polyoestry is discussed. It is concluded that the overall biology of S. crassicaudata reflects adaptation to a fluctuating food supply. * Part II, Aust. Wildl. Res., 1978, 5, 163–82.

Attractiveness of a novel omnivore bait, PIGOUT®, to feral pigs (Sus scrofa) and assessment of risks of bait uptake by non-target species

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan D. Cowled ◽  
Steven J. Lapidge ◽  
Michelle Smith ◽  
Linton Staples
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Sex Bias ◽  
Small Animals ◽  
Elevated Blood ◽  
Target Specificity ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Fresh Meat ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Eastern Australia

Following a bait-preference pilot study on captive feral pigs, a series of field studies assessed the attractiveness and target-specificity of a prototype manufactured feral pig bait (PIGOUT®). Two promising test baits and fresh meat reference baits were biomarked with iophenoxic acid and aerially distributed in 100-km2 blocks of land infested with feral pigs in western Queensland to assess field uptake and target-specificity without prefeeding. Uptake was assessed by measuring blood iodine levels in aerially shot feral pigs. In all, 80% of feral pigs sampled in a non-toxic PIGOUT®-baited area had significantly elevated blood iodine, compared with 52% of sampled feral pigs in a meat-baited area (although slightly different baiting strategies were employed). No age or sex bias was evident in PIGOUT®-consuming feral pigs. No monitored manufactured baits were consumed by non-target species in 500 bait-nights. Attractiveness and target-specificity trials of ground-laid, unfenced PIGOUT® baits compared with reference baits were subsequently undertaken in several regions of eastern Australia. Results showed that PIGOUT® was consumed readily by feral pigs at all sites, and that it offered significant improvement in target specificity when compared with unfenced wheat or meat baits. However, the baits were consumed by small numbers of macropods, birds and possums. Available evidence indicates that the target-specificity of PIGOUT® bait is highest in the rangelands, reducing slightly in temperate areas and subalpine forests, where abundance of small animals is higher.

The Effect of Hunting With Dogs on the Numbers and Movements of Feral Pigs, Sus-Scrofa, and the Subsequent Success of Poisoning Exercises in Namadgi-National-Park, Act

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 353 ◽  
Author(s):  
JC Mcilroy ◽  
RJ Saillard
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Canis Familiaris ◽  
Disease Outbreak ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Feral Pigs

A week-long hunting trial with dogs, Canis familiaris, to control feral pigs, Sus scrofa, in Namadgi National Park, A.C.T., did not cause the pigs to disperse from the area or adversely affect the success of two subsequent poisoning exercises. Hunting was generally not as effective in reducing pig numbers as poisoning with warfarin, but could be useful for obtaining samples of pigs for monitoring disease during the first few days of an exotic disease outbreak, and also for killing pigs that have survived other control methods.

Pathways ahead for New Zealand hill country farming

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.G. Scrimgeour
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Hill Farming ◽  
The Hill

This paper provides a stocktake of the status of hill country farming in New Zealand and addresses the challenges which will determine its future state and performance. It arises out of the Hill Country Symposium, held in Rotorua, New Zealand, 12-13 April 2016. This paper surveys people, policy, business and change, farming systems for hill country, soil nutrients and the environment, plants for hill country, animals, animal feeding and productivity, and strategies for achieving sustainable outcomes in the hill country. This paper concludes by identifying approaches to: support current and future hill country farmers and service providers, to effectively and efficiently deal with change; link hill farming businesses to effective value chains and new markets to achieve sufficient and stable profitability; reward farmers for the careful management of natural resources on their farm; ensure that new technologies which improve the efficient use of input resources are developed; and strategies to achieve vibrant rural communities which strengthen hill country farming businesses and their service providers. Keywords: farming systems, hill country, people, policy, productivity, profitability, sustainability

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