Vol. 3, No. 11 
Page 2 
W-42-R-10 R. D. Lord, Jr. 
On November 12, census drives were carried out with the aid of the 
University of Illinois class in wildlife management on the two 100-acre 
Allerton Park study areas. The results indicated a population of 309 rabbits 
on the 4-H area and 125 rabbits on the Sanctuary area. These estimates 
correspond very losely with those of the previous 4 years, indicating that 
rabbits populations on these areas have been stable. 
Analysis of the home range of the cottontail based on captures made over 
the past years on the Allerton park study areas indicates that the average home 
range was 2.34 acres. The largest home range recorded was 10.58 acres. There 
was a considerable difference in the size of the home range between the 4-H area 
and the Sanctuary. The average home range on the 4-H area was 2.50 acres and on 
the Sanctuary area it was only 1.75 acres. Adults had larger home ranges 
(2.65 A.) than did juveniles (2.27 A.), but there was no difference in the size 
of the home range between males and females. 
W-55-R-4 F. C. Bellrose 
Four weekly censuses of waterfowl populations in the Illinois and 
Mississippi River valleys were taken during the month of November. Duck popu¬ 
lations during this period were similar in magnitude to those during the same 
period in 1959. However, they were 40 to 50 per cent below the average duck 
populations which prevailed during the period 1944-1958. 
The principal flight occurred on November 8-9, which increased duck 
populations in the state from 554,000 to 1,139,000. Although there have been 
two small flights since the grand passage, the ingress was more or less balanced 
by egress. 
VI-56-R-4 G. C. Sanderson 
The infectious enteritis which killed all but 2 of the 22 young raccoons 
being held in captivity in the fall of 1959 is still present. All young raccoons 
placed in captivity this year have contracted the disease. It has been learned 
that, if treatment is begun soon enough with the proper antibiotics, the raccoons 
will survive. No positive cases of this disease have been identified from wild 
raccoons. A possible case is a young male raccoon found in Hancock County on 
October 25, I960. This animal, which died after a few hours in captivity, had 
symptoms which appeared to be typical of infectious enteritis. The University 
of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine, plans to use material from this 
animal in attempts to infect minks and raccoons as a part of their study of 
infectious enteritis. 
Information from fur houses indicates that near record numbers of raccoons 
were harvested by hunters and trappers during the early part of the season, at 
least in the central and northern sections. Probably the pleasant weather which 
prevailed during much of November afforded conditions favoring the large kill. 
