September, 1945 



Brown & Yeager: Squirrels in Illinois 



525 



season limit on the kill, the total being 25. 



It is interesting to note that long 

 seasons are, for the most part, in those 

 states where the oak-hickory forest type 

 is most extensive. These forests, in the 

 central states, probably reach their best 

 development in Missouri and Illinois. 

 That this correlation of season with habi- 

 tat should occur is perhaps significant ; it 

 appears to be an instance in which the law 

 of supply and demand exerts a dominating 

 influence on legislation governing the utili- 

 zation of a wildlife resource. 



Eflfect of Early Seasons. — The basic 

 effects of early-season hunting may be 

 summarized as follows : ( 1 ) Approxi- 

 mately 50 per cent of the kill is of first- 

 litter young; (2) the kill includes a 

 considerable portion of the pregnant and 



lactating females; and (3) many young 

 squirrels too immature to be self-sustaining 

 die of starvation. 



From a biological standpoint, there is 

 no real objection to a high percentage of 

 young squirrels in early-season bags. Ma- 

 ture animals appear to be the more certain 

 winter-season breeders. From the stand- 

 point of the hunter, young squirrels rank 

 higher than old, as they are of maximum 

 tenderness and palatability, whereas 

 breeding squirrels, particularly spent males 

 and lactating females, are relatively low 

 in these qualities. 



The chief objection to early-season 

 hunting is that it results in the destruction 

 of pregnant and lactating females ; the 

 pregnant animals involve unborn young, 

 and many of the lactating females involve 



Table 26. — Squirrel hunting seasons in midwest states, 1944. 



