This item is a little old, but it happened while I was busy moving and couldn't get to it. The LA Times reported that the city of Santa Monica has been faced with a problem where one of its parks has been overrun by a population explosion of ground squirrels.
And what did the city do? Trap and kill some to keep the population down? Trap some and move some to another area? Encourage natural predators to hunt there and keep the population down? - we have recommended to some clients with ground squirrel problems that they build perching spots for raptors in the area - it works.
No - Santa Monica is going to catch the ground squirrels and give them birth control shots.
5 comments:
Santa Fe once caught and flea- powdered their prairie dogs to guard against plague...
Here's another option with groundsquirrels >>
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2007/03/dedicate-rat-smoker-available-off-shelf.html
You don't even need a terrier -- just 3-6 dogs with a small interest in prey (pretty much any dog that's not a maltese or a papillon).
P
Anybody know if AR people are still pushing contraception to control big game populations?
Or are any wildlife biologists seriously working on this as an alternative to hunting?
Picture Wayne Pacelle chasing after an Elk at timberline, condom in hand...
Jerry-- THAT'S an image that will stay with you...
A group in Santa Barbara was advocating using contraceptives to control feral pig populations on Santa Cruz Island. The Park Service had enough sense to hire hunters to take them out. Steve and I had a snarky post about pig condoms last year as I recall.
Reid Farmer
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