Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting
Abstract Poaching is the main cause of mortality for many large carnivores, and mitigating it is imperative for the persistence of their populations. For Wisconsin gray wolves (Canis lupus), periods of increased risk in overall mortality and poaching seem to overlap temporally with legal hunting sea...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9ba79a3c1bc14b81ba3a8a7528ed1429 2023-05-15T15:50:31+02:00 Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila Adrian Treves 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w https://doaj.org/article/9ba79a3c1bc14b81ba3a8a7528ed1429 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/9ba79a3c1bc14b81ba3a8a7528ed1429 Scientific Reports, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2022) Medicine R Science Q article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w 2022-12-31T09:41:44Z Abstract Poaching is the main cause of mortality for many large carnivores, and mitigating it is imperative for the persistence of their populations. For Wisconsin gray wolves (Canis lupus), periods of increased risk in overall mortality and poaching seem to overlap temporally with legal hunting seasons for other large mammals (hunting wolves was prohibited). We analyzed monitoring data from adult, collared wolves in Wisconsin, USA (1979–2012, n = 495) using a competing-risk approach to test explicitly if seasons during which it was legal to train hunting hounds (hounding) or hunt other large mammals (hunting) affected wolves’ hazard of cause-specific mortality and disappearance. We found increases in hazard for disappearances and documented (‘reported’) poaching during seasons with hunting, hounding or snow cover relative to a season without these factors. The ‘reported poached’ hazard increased > 650% during seasons with hunting and snow cover, which may be due to a seasonal surge in numbers of potential poachers or to some poachers augmenting their activities. Snow cover was a major environmental factor contributing to poaching, presumably through increased detection of wolves. Our study suggests poaching is by far the highest mortality hazard for wolves and reinforces the need for protections and policies targeting poaching of protected populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Scientific Reports 12 1 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila Adrian Treves Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract Poaching is the main cause of mortality for many large carnivores, and mitigating it is imperative for the persistence of their populations. For Wisconsin gray wolves (Canis lupus), periods of increased risk in overall mortality and poaching seem to overlap temporally with legal hunting seasons for other large mammals (hunting wolves was prohibited). We analyzed monitoring data from adult, collared wolves in Wisconsin, USA (1979–2012, n = 495) using a competing-risk approach to test explicitly if seasons during which it was legal to train hunting hounds (hounding) or hunt other large mammals (hunting) affected wolves’ hazard of cause-specific mortality and disappearance. We found increases in hazard for disappearances and documented (‘reported’) poaching during seasons with hunting, hounding or snow cover relative to a season without these factors. The ‘reported poached’ hazard increased > 650% during seasons with hunting and snow cover, which may be due to a seasonal surge in numbers of potential poachers or to some poachers augmenting their activities. Snow cover was a major environmental factor contributing to poaching, presumably through increased detection of wolves. Our study suggests poaching is by far the highest mortality hazard for wolves and reinforces the need for protections and policies targeting poaching of protected populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila Adrian Treves |
author_facet |
Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila Adrian Treves |
author_sort |
Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila |
title |
Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
title_short |
Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
title_full |
Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
title_fullStr |
Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
title_full_unstemmed |
Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
title_sort |
poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w https://doaj.org/article/9ba79a3c1bc14b81ba3a8a7528ed1429 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/9ba79a3c1bc14b81ba3a8a7528ed1429 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766385478604423168 |