MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Vol. 2, No. 3 
Page 3 
Furbuyers reported that during the 1957-58 season they paid an 
average of $10.23 for each mink pelt, $U.69 for each beaver, and $0.91 for 
each raccoon. 
It is estimated that approximately i|0,000 raccoon carcasses were 
sold for human consumption during the 1957-58 season. These brought an 
average return of about $0.75 and a total of about $30,000.00 for the year. 
About $70,000.00 was paid to hunters and trappers each year for the pelts. 
Beginning in November 1958 and continuing to the present time many 
verified reports of sick and dead raccoons have been received; more verified 
reports than at any other time during the past 10 years. During the past 
several months, sick or dead raccoons with what may be toxic amounts of lead 
in their livers have been received from McLean, Champaign, Edgar, and Edwards 
counties. The source of this suspected poisoning is being sought. Many of 
the sick and dead raccoons autopsied since December 1958 also have had a rather 
severe pneumonia, the first high prevalence in the raccoons examined. Other 
verbal reports have been received, but animals have been obtained for autopsy 
from only those locations visited by project personnel, or from which the 
local conservation officer or sportsmen brought sick raccoons. 
W-61-R-2 F. Greeley, J. Ellis 
Sixty hens and ten cocks were obtained from the State Game Farm at 
Yorkville for experiments on the effect of calcium levels in the feed. The 
birds were housed in ten pens and put on a high calcium diet (3.0 per cent) 
which they will be fed until egg-laying begins. At this time five levels of 
calcium, ranging from 0.25 to 3.0 per cent, will be fed in order to determine 
effects on egg production, egg-shell thickness, bone-ash and general condition 
of the hens. 
Six rural mail carrier counts in 75 counties during 1957-58 were 
compared with the highest counts in the state which were in Livingston County. 
Ford County rated 90 per cent as high as Livingston in birds per 100 miles. 
Three counties, Iroquois, McLean and Champaign, were 35 per cent as high as 
Livingston. Nine counties rated 20-30 per cent, eight counties 10-19 per cent, 
forty-five counties 1-10 per cent and the remainder less than 1 per cent. 
These ratings can be used to estimate relative abundance of pheasants 
in the various counties and for comparing soils and land use statistics. 
A job completion report for the Neoga study was written during March. 
The data indicated that the pheasant population on the area was severely re¬ 
duced early in the fall of 1958. The breeding population found on the area in 
spring was considered adequate. A 50 per cent increase in the number of broods 
over 1957 was observed and the survival of chicks was normal. However, farmers 
reported seeing 65 per cent fewer pheasants during September and October than 
during the same period in 1957, and there x^as a considerable decrease in the 
kill due partly to low hunting pressure. In 1959, the winter census and the 
first crowing count of the spring also indicated that the pheasant population 
was at the lowest level since the release in 1956. 
