New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
Responses of stoats to scent lures in tracking tunnels
B. K. CLAPPERTON
49 Margaret Avenue
Havelock North, New Zealand
J. A. MCLENNAN
Landcare Research New Zealand
33 Simla Avenue
Havelock North, New Zealand
A. D. WOOLHOUSE
Industrial Research Limited
P.O. Box 31-310
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Abstract Scent lures made from the anal sac secretions of
stoats (
Mustela erminea) in a long-life formulation increased the number
of visits by stoats to footprint tracking tunnels set near the shoreline of
Lake Waikaremoana. Lures derived from female stoats received a similar number
of visits to those derived from males. Blank lures with no active ingredient
did not attract stoats. Most of the lures remained intact and active for about
seven weeks in summer. Rodents were unaffected by the lures, being neither
repelled by the scent of stoats, nor attracted to the edible casein-based
carrier compound. Our results suggest that scent lures could be useful for
indexing stoat populations. Trials are needed to compare the effectiveness of
lures and bait, and to determine seasonal changes in lure attractiveness.
Problems of supply of the active ingredients will need to be overcome.
Keywords stoat; Mustela erminea; rodents; scent; lure;
anal sac secretion; attractiveness; longevity; abundance estimates; tracking
Z98042
Received 30 November 1998; accepted 25 March 1999
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (341K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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