New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts

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Effect of concentration of anal gland scent lures on the capture rate of ferrets (Mustela furo) in winter and spring

E. B. Spurr¹*
J. R. Ragg^2†
C. E. O’Connor¹
W. J. Hamilton^2†
H. Moller²
A. D. Woolhouse³
C. W. Morse¹
G. A. Morriss¹
G. C. Arnold¹
B. K. Clapperton⁴

¹Landcare Research
P.O. Box 69
Lincoln 8152, New Zealand 
²Ecosystems Consultants
30 Warden St
Dunedin, New Zealand
³Industrial Research Limited
P.O. Box 31 310
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
⁴49 Margaret Avenue
Havelock North, New Zealand

Abstract  We tested scent lures made from the anal gland secretions of male and female ferrets (Mustela furo L.) at 0.1–2% concentration in “Albert”, a solid, long-life, casein-based formulation, as attractants for feral ferrets in winter and spring. Live traps at 10 study sites in Canterbury and Otago lured with 2% female scent caught significantly more ferrets (1.00 per 100 corrected trap nights) than those lured with a fish-based paste (0 per 100 CTN), and at least twice as many as those lured with male scent or lower concentrations of female scent. The traps lured with the 2% female scent caught both male and female ferrets in approximately equal numbers, at a time of year when it is sometimes difficult to capture females. Capture rates of female ferrets increased with increasing female scent lure concentration, but this response was not shown by male ferrets, nor was it shown by either sex to increases in concentration of male scent lures. The results of this study have confirmed the findings of previous studies about the potential of ferret anal gland secretions as lures for ferrets. Further research is needed, using radio-telemetry, to determine what proportion of the ferret population is attracted to these lures compared with traditional rabbit meat lures, and whether this varies seasonally.

Keywords  ferret; Mustela furo; scent; lure; anal gland secretion; attractiveness; trapping

Z03037; Online publication date 23 August 2004 Received 23 September 2003; accepted 6 May 2004
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2004, Vol. 31: 227–232
0301–4223/04/3103–0227 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004

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