Summer/Fall 2000

Current Research: MSU Study Tracks Mississippi Predators

A 10-year study by the Mississippi State University's (MSU) Forest and Wildlife Research Center has yielded some surprises about the state's wildlife populations.

The study was conducted because of concern that predators were taking a heavy toll on the state's wild turkey population, according to MSU wildlife ecologist Dr. Bruce Leopold.

"About 1970, large numbers of coyotes began moving into Mississippi and other areas of the Southeast," said Leopold. "By the late 1980s there was concern that they could significantly reduce the population of wild turkeys in the state".

To find out for sure, Leopold, along with Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Dr. George Hurst, and graduate students under their direction began capturing and fitting coyotes and other wild turkey predators with radio tracking collars.

The research was sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program. Additional support was provided by the National Wild Turkey Federation and its Mississippi chapter, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, the USDA Forest Service and the Mississippi Racoon Hunters Association.

Between 1988 and 1998, they kept tabs on more than 400 animals, including coyotes, bobcats, gray fox, raccoons and opossums. The length if the study, as well as the number and variety of animals involved, was unprecedented, according to Leopold.

"No one had ever studied the entire range of predators in an environment for as long as we did," Leopold said.

The wildlife specialists collected data on the animals' home range, habitat use, diet, morality factors, reproduction and how they interacted with other animals. One of the surprising findings was that neither the coyote nor the bobcat, Mississippi's two largest predators, dine regularly on wild turkeys.

"The research confirmed that the greatest threat to the wild turkey population is raccoons," Leopold said. "They cause tremendous damage by feeding on eggs and disrupting nests."

The study helped wildlife biologists find a solution to the raccoon threat to the birds.

"We found that controlled burning of woodlands populated by wild turkeys every three to five years helps improve sites as nesting areas for the birds," Leopold said.

"At the same time, the burning makes the habitat less attractive to raccoons as a hunting area and reduces their threat to the turkey population."

Another surprise finding was that bobcats and coyotes successfully coexist in an area.

"We found that while two animals are aggressive toward each other, they tend not to come into contact and can occupy the same home range," Leopold explained.

The MSU scientists are continuing to analyze the data collected during the study and recently posted a summary of their findings at http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/predator/projecthome.html.