Vol. 5, No. 5 
Page 3 
Table 2.—Average age of cottontail rabbits as determined from analyses of 
lenses collected from rabbits killed by hunters. 
Region 
1959-60 
1960-61 
1961-62 
Average 
Age (Months) 
Number 
Average 
Age (Months) 
Number 
Average 
Age (Months) 
Number 
South 
9.97 
322 
8.50 
1,161 
8.00 
1,692 
Prairie 
8.57 
198 
7.05 
109 
6.CO 
487 
West and 
Northwest 
8.63 
389 
7.90 
196 
7.00 
969 
Total 
9.09 
909 
8.31 
1,466 
7.00 
3,148 
5. Investigations of Furbearers Ralph J. Ellis 
During the 1961-62 fur season, raccoon bacula were collected from furbuyers 
throughout Illinois. Each baculum was classified as from a preyearling or post¬ 
yearling raccoon, table 3. 
Table 3.--Preyearling raccoons expressed as percentages of all raccoons rep¬ 
resented by bacula collected in Illinois during the 1961-62 fur season. 
Period 
Northern 
Hunting Zone 
Southern 
Hunting Zone 
Entire 
State 
First Half 
of Season 
Second Half 
of Season 
72.9 (783)* 
55.1 (227) 
74.8 (1,227) 
57.4 (674) 
74.1 (2,010) 
56.6 (901) 
Entire 
Season 69.1 (1,257)** 68.6 (1,901) 
68.8 (3,158) 
* Sample sizes in parentheses 
** Includes 147 bones with unknown collection dates 
These data suggest that the production of male raccoons was high during the 
summer of 1961. To test the hypothesis that the production of females was as 
high as that of males, a comparison was made between 724 males and 702 females 
selected at random and autopsied in two fur houses during the 1961-62 fur season, 
table 4. 
