Recent Records of Formerly Extirpated Carnivores in Nebraska

• Main Authors: Hoffman, Justin D., Genoways, Hugh H.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2005
• Subjects: biodiversity; Canis; carnivore; distribution; Lontra; Lynx; Nebraska; Puma; Ursus; Zoology; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/museummammalogy/125; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/museummammalogy/article/1124/viewcontent/Hoffman_PN_2005.pdf

By the early 1900's, several large carnivores had been extirpated from Nebraska as a result of unrestricted hunting and trapping by early European settlers. Recently, there have been several confirmed records of carnivores that were once extirpated from Nebraska. In our study, we present new data for five species that recently were documented in Nebraska: Lynx canadensis, Ursus americanus, Canis lupus, Puma concolor, and Lontra canadensis. Restoration programs and legal protection afforded to these species in Nebraska and in adjacent states have allowed population numbers to increase. Because of the increase in populations of these carnivores, individuals have begun to disperse into Nebraska or are establishing populations resulting from restoration programs. The reoccurence of top predators into an ecosystem presents the possibility of effects on the biodiversity in Nebraska.