2013-2014 Illinois Otter Trapper Report

• Main Authors: Schweizer, Laura A., Stephenson, Andrew L., McCleary, Meghan E., Miller, Craig A., Campbell, Linda K.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Illinois Natural History Survey 2014
• Subjects: Trapper effort; otter harvest; satisfaction; participation; IDNR Division of Wildlife; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Lontra; Lynx
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/55730

Illinois otter trapping was reinstated in the 2012-2013 trapping season. In 2013-2014, the second year of reinstatement, 608 Illinois residents purchased otter registration; all were mailed a 4-page questionnaire. We received 460 (77 %) usable questionnaires. During the 2013-14 season, an average of 31 traps were set per trapper over the course of 37 days or nights, on average. Respondents harvested an average of 2.1 otters (Lontra canadensis) each, totaling 960 otters, a 36% decrease from 2012-13. Participants also harvested 22,933 raccoons (Procyon lotor), 6,710 muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), and 4,374 opossum (Didelphis virginiana) during the 2013-2014 Illinois trapping season. Sightings of bobcats (Lynx rufus) by trappers, trapper attitudes toward wildlife related issues, and participation in trapper education programs were also documented. not peer reviewed Submitted by Kaleigh Niccum ([e-mail]) on 2014-11-14T20:27:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 INHS2014_30.pdf: 1539468 bytes, checksum: 49d738a1afea94c1b718c1aaa80885ad (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-11-14T20:27:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 INHS2014_30.pdf: 1539468 bytes, checksum: 49d738a1afea94c1b718c1aaa80885ad (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-25 IDNR Division of Wildlife U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service unpublished Open