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Illinois Natural History Survky Bulletin 



Vol. 27, Art. 2 



fluctuating water levels in bottomland 

 lakes Hankinj: the Illinois River have been 

 made by Natural History Survey re- 

 searchers. Bellrose c^- Brown (1941:207) 

 observed that the numbers of niuskrat 

 houses 



were nearly six times as many in lakes with 

 a stable, as in those with a semistable, water 

 level and there were twice as many lodges 

 per acre in lakes with a semistable, as in 

 those with a fluctuating, water level. 



Stable water levels favored the growth 

 of those species of aquatic plants most 

 desirable for muskrats. Later, following 

 an investigation of the response of musk- 

 rat populations to flood and low water 

 levels in these bottomland lakes, Bellrose 

 & Low (1943:187) concluded: 



While muskrats may be harassed and deci- 

 mated within a short time during flood con- 

 ditions, those living under low water condi- 

 tions may escape without serious loss in 

 summer but may be seriously afl^ected during 

 cold, winter weather. 



In 1940-41 and 1943-44 Bellrose 

 1950) developed a new technique for 

 evaluating the food preferences of musk- 

 rats by comparing the proportions of plant 

 foods taken from "feeding" lodges in mid- 

 winter with the proportions of plants 

 known to have been within the feeding 

 range of the muskrats. Cattail was rated 

 the most preferred food. The capacity of 

 vegetative types to support muskrat popu- 

 lations was determined by recording the 

 density of muskrat lodges in each vegeta- 

 tion type. River bulrush and cattail had 

 the greatest population values. 



Advantage was taken of two unusually 

 fine opportunities for measuring the re- 

 sponse of raccoons to a food windfall of 

 ducks (Yeager & Rennels 1943) and 

 geese (Yeager «S>: Elder 1945) made avail- 

 able as hunters' crippling losses at the 

 Pere IVLirciuctte Wildlife Experimental 

 Area immediately above the confluence of 

 the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and at 

 the Horseshoe Lake Game Refuge in 

 Alexander County. At the Horseshoe 

 Lake Game Refuge, where crippling 

 losses were alarmingly high, bird remains, 

 chiefly those of Canada geese, occurred 

 in 20.7 per cent of the raccoon droppings 

 collected a day after the hunting season 

 opened and in 87.9 per cent of the drop- 

 pings collected 3 weeks after the close of 



the season (Yeager ik Elder 1945:49- 

 51). In 1939 and 1940, on the Pere 

 Marquette AVildlife Experimental Area, 

 duck remains did not occur in raccoon 

 droppings collected before the opening of 

 the waterfowl season, but after opening 

 of the season "remains of mallard, pin- 

 tail, and wood duck were 89 per cent of 

 the bird material in 1939, and 76 per cent 

 in 1940" (Yeager & Rennels 1943:59). 

 These findings indicate that crippled 

 waterfowl may not constitute a complete 

 loss, inasmuch as furbearers utilize them 

 as food. The biology of the raccoon is 

 currently under intensive study by Glen 

 C. Sanderson. 



A survey of the population and distri- 

 bution of beavers in Illinois was con- 

 ducted under a co-operative Federal Aid 

 project from April 1, 1947, through June 

 30," 1951. It was found (Pietsch 1957: 

 193-6) that beavers were "last reported" 

 in Illinois in 1912, were reintroduced in 

 1929, were estimated to number 3,565 in 

 45 counties in 1950, and were reported 

 from 55 counties in 1954. 



The red fox was made the subject of 

 a thorough evaluation (Scott 1955) be- 

 cause the values of this colorful mammal 

 were believed to have been regularly 

 underrated. This evaluation was based on 

 personal experience extending over 20 

 years and a number of intensive investi- 

 gations (Scott 1943, 1947; Scott ^ Klim- 

 stra 1955) especially relating to the red 

 fox as a predator. As a result of 

 this evaluation, Scott (1955:14) recom- 

 mended : 



1. The encouragement of an increased use 

 of red foxes for sport hunting, . . . 



2. The education of those who hope for 

 increased small game populations through fox 

 extermination campaigns to the more con- 

 crete and lasting results that may be expected 

 from habitat improvement programs. . . . 



3. The elimination of bounty payments on 

 red foxes. 



4. The enactment and enforcement of more 

 efl"ective antirabies laws, especially as ap- 

 plied to the compulsory vaccination and 

 quarantine of domestic dogs, and prompt re- 

 duction by organized trapping of red fox 

 populations in which rabies epizootics occur. 



5. The increased attention by game man- 

 agers to the proper management of the red 

 fox resource in general, including assistance 

 with the cropping of surplus animals in areas 

 where adequate cropping has not been ac- 

 complished b\- hunters. 



