Table Of ContentWILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES
THIRD EDITION: REVISED
Edited by: ROBERT H. GILES, JR., PhD
Associate Professor
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Illustrated by: LARRY TOSCHIK
Phoenix, Arizona
Prepared by the Wildlife
Techniques Manual Committee
THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY
WASHINGTON, D. C.
1971
Wildlife Management Techniques
Copyright © by The Wildlife Society, Inc. 1969
Printed in the United States of America for The Wildlife Society
by Edwards Brothers, Inc.
2500 South State St,
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
All rights in this book are reserved. No part of the book may beused or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permissionexcept in the case ofnon-profit educational reproduction, use y
agencies of the U. S. Government, or brief quotations embodied incritical articles and review. For
information, address: The Wildlife Society, Inc.
Suite S176, 3900Wisconsin Ave., Northwest
Washington, D. C. 20016
This bookis the third in a series on wildlife techniques published by The Wildlife Society
Editor, Henry S. Mosby
Manual of Game Investigational Techniques
(1) First Edition—May 1960
Second Printing—February 1961
Wildlife Investigational Techniques
(2) Second Edition—May 1963
>
Second Printing (Revised)—March 1965
Third through Sixth Printing—March 1966to September 1968
Editor, Robert H. Giles, Jr.
Wildlife Management Techniques
(3) June 1969
Second Printing (Revised)—January 1971
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-17250
THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY
The Wildlife Society has for its major objectives the establishment of
high professional standards, the encouragement ofmanagementofwildlife
along sound biological lines, and the dissemination of information to
accomplish these ends. The members of The Wildlife Society believe
that wildlife and other natural resources have a permanent place in our
culture. The Society supports programs to enhance the esthetic, recrea
tional, and economic values of wildlife and seeks to insure the wise use
of this natural resource as part of our living standard.
These objectives, rising from unselfish motives, are directed toward
the well-being of all occupants of our planet. They are carried out in a
large number and variety of ways, primary among these being the pub
lications of the Society, all edited by volunteers. The Journal of Wildlife
Management, our 33-year old scientificquarterly, hasgrownto more than
1000 pages per annual volume. Scientific papers too lengthy for inclusion
in The Journal of Wildlife Management are published in the Society's
Wildlife Monograph series. Through 1968,16 Monographs havebeen pub
lished on a wide variety of subjects such as: waterfowl, bighorn sheep,
prairie dogs, brook trout, stream ecology, and the wildebeest in Africa.
This techniques manual is another attempt to attain our goals.
The Society's wide and diverse professional interestsand responsibil
ities are reflected in its stylized hieroglyphic emblem adopted in 1937,
the Society's first year of existence. The horizontal lines of figures,
from top to bottom, may be translated as: beasts, birds, fishes, and
flowering plants.
It is the hope of The Wildlife Society that this techniques manual will
be of immense value to students and practitioners alike, and that the
volunteer committee efforts represented herein will also be of use and
interest to those in related disciplines.
Your own comments on The Wildlife Society's efforts will be most
helpful.
Fred G. Evenden
Executive Director
June, 1969
CONTENTS
Vll
Preface
Chapter 1 The Approach, Robert H. Giles, Jr 1
Planning Wildlife Management Investigations
Chapter 2
and Projects, Thomas H. Ripley 5
Using the Literature on Wildlife Management,
Chapter 3
13
Robert W. Bums, Jr
Developing and Maintaining ASmall Personal
Chapter 4
Reprint Library, RobertW. Bums, Jr. and
47
Henry S. Mosby
Writingthe Scientific Report, Thomas G. Scott
Chapter 5
53
and James S. Ayars
Chapter 6 Making Observations and Records,
61
Henry S. Mosby
Instrumentation, Robert H. Giles, Jr 73
Chapter 7
Using Computers inWildlife Management,
Chapter 8
83
Lowell Adams
Radio-Location Telemetry, Robert B. Brander
Chapter 9
95
and William W. Cochran
Uses of Radar in Wildlife Management,
Chapter 10
105
M. T. Myres
Radiosotopes and Their Use in Wildlife Research
Chapter 11
109
Tony J. Peterle
Reconnaissance Mapping and Map Use,
Chapter 12
119
Henry S. Mosby
Habitat Analysis and Evaluation, Antoon DeVos
Chapter 13
135
and Henry S. Mosby
Habitat Manipulation Practices,Jim Yoakum
Chapter 14
173
and William P. Dasmann
Procedures For Food-Habits Analysis,
Chapter 15
233
Leroy J. Korschgen
Post-Mortem Examinations, 1. McT. Cowan,
Chapter 16
251
revised by Lars Karstad
Collection and Field Preservation of Biological
Chapter 17
Materials, Henry S. Mosby and /. McT. Cowan,
259
revised by Lars Karstad
Chapter 18 Capturing and MarkingWild Animals, Richard
D. Tabercmdi. McT. Cowan 277
Chapter 19 Use of Dogs in Wildlife Management,
Fred C. Zwickel 319
Chapter 20 Criteria of Sex and Age, Richard D. Taber 325
Chapter 21 Estimating the Numbers ofAnimals in Wildlife
Populations, W. Scott Overton 403
Chapter 22 Population Analysis, L. L. Eberkardt 457
Chapter 23 Identifying, Evaluating, and Controlling Wildlife
Damage, Terry E, Anderson 497
Chapter 24 Population Manipulation, Robert H. Giles, Jr 521
Appendix 527
Literature Cited 549
Index 609
PREFACE
Wildlife Matiagemenl Techniques is an evolu vision soon. Catalogsorexhaustivebibliographies
to species, problems, or techniques are given in
tionary step on a continuum that started with
only a few chapters. Literature was selected for
Howard M. Wight's Field and Laboratory Tech
demonstrating an approach or describing tech
niques in Wildlife Management in 1938.Anedition
niques in detail. Questions of "how" have been of
of Manual of Game Investigational Techniques
primary concern in the book; questionsof "why"
was the second step taken by a committee of The
Wildlife Societyand author-editorHenryS. Mosby. are of first order but herein treated as of sec
The third and fourth steps were an edition and ondary importance.
Readers will find one major topic omitted un
revision of Wildlife Investigational Techniques.
der the large scope of the title. The omission is
The evolutionary force was generated by Dr.
man management or socialengineering. Thoughto
Mosby in whose footsteps this editor follows
proudly both as student and as editor, dwarfed some readers there will be negative connotations
by the magnitude and strength of the previous to the terms, toothers,themanipulationofhabitat,
wildlife populations, and man and their inter
editions. The strength of the previous editions
actions to achieve stated goals is wildlife man
is explained in their lengthy Preface and Ac
agement. Gilbert's (1964) treatment ofthetopic
knowledgments which attest to the great support
of Society members. Their support, bolstered by must suffice until wildlife managers see more
clearly the man-land-game conflicts andattempt
dozens more unnamed reviewers and assistants,
to solve the management problem by studying the
lives on in this book.
techniques of education, sociology, psychology,
Wildlife Management Techniques is a textbook
legislation and politics as diligently as theystudy
and manual for well-educated peopleworkingwith
plants and animals. The human aspectofthewild
game mammals and birds. The content is pur
life management problem can besolved; itcannot
posefully sketchy in all areas, since the objec
tives are todescribemajorapproachestoproblem be left to non-wildlifers. One daythesenecessary
chapters will be written-when there is more
solving, suggest ways of implementing these
solutions, describe and direct readers to some support and wisdom.
There has been evolution in past editions;
of the better techniques and tools now known, and
hopefully the present edition is "fit";expectantly,
indicate gaps in our knowledge. The overriding
goal is to improve the management of thewildlife future editions or sub-editions will survive and
reflect the creative improvements of time and
resource through more rapid development and
human involvement in a worthwhile task.
improved use of techniques.
No recommendations are made for standard
Robert H. Giles, Jr., Editor and
techniques; best methods are not suggested. The
Chairman, Wildlife Techniques
state-of-knowledge as of mid 1966-67 has been
Manual Committee
presented with the expectation of need for re
