Yc. 'i. lp':!:> ;,ir. ras= e+iv.aw a. é Y. n r.. """"P 41111) tea :--0` 11;11_ 5_1 OREGON. WILDLIFE November 1974

Transcription

1 Yc ú 'i lp':!:> 7 î ;,i } e+ivaw a é Y as= i n n i 41111) it tea 441 ` """"P ti i ti * 9 :0` f 11;11_ 5_1 ` OREGON J WILDLIFE Novembe 1974 J o

2 OREGON WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 1974 Volume 29, No 11 RON E SHAY, Edito HAROLD C SMITH, Staff Atist Oegon Wildlife is published monthly by the Oegon Wildlife Commission Ealie volumes of the publication wee entitled the Oegon State Game Commission Bulletin OREGON WILDLIFE COMMISSION MEMBERS FRANK A MOORE, Chaiman Idleyld Pak DAN CALLAGHAN, Vice Chaiman Salem MRS ALLEN BATEMAN Klamath Falls ALLAN L KELLY Potland JAMES W WHITTAKER Pilot Rock JOHN W McKEAN, Diecto All coespondence should be sent to: OREGON WILDLIFE COMMISSION PO Box SW Alde Steet Potland, Oegon Pemission to epint is ganted; cedit would be appeciated Oegon Wildlife is ciculated fee of chage Please epot change of addess pomptly giving both new and old addesses and zip codes Second class postage paid at Potland, Oegon The Cove Bobcat Photo by Bob Mace HUNTER EDUCATION PROGRAM INSTRUCTORS APPROVED Month of Septembe 66 Total to Date 3,512 Guest Editoial Land Fo Wildlife One of the difficulties faced by a wildlife manage is that the esouce he is chaged with managing nomally occupies land ove which he has no contol His management plans must be developed in concet with othe uses of the land, one o moe of which may be paamount This applies not only to the wildlife esouces but to utilization of that esouce by the public In cetain situations whee conflicts with othe uses cannot be esolved o whee wildlife values ae pedominant, it may be necessay to actually set aside lands fo the pimay use of wildlife If anyone has the notion that the Wildlife Commission is a big land baon, peish the thought Cuently the Commission opeates 18 wildlife management aeas embacing 169,000 aces within the poject boundaies Of this aceage, 99,000 aces ae owned at the pesent time and anothe 28,000 aces ae contolled by lease o ageement Fo pimay wildlife use, then, the Commission owns less than 100,000 aces out of a total of 62 million aces in the state One could hadly descibe this as a lage public owneship Remaining within the pesent wildlife management aeas ae appoximately 41,000 aces yet to be acquied o othewise contolled In most instances it is consideed essential that the Commission gain contol of these lands to ealize the maximum wildlife poduction and eceational benefits that the aeas can povide It is estimated that acquisition and development of these additional lands at cuent pices would cost about 6 million dollas One of the easons why the Commission is equesting that the legislatue gant an incease in license and tag fees is to enable it to complete the wildlife management aea pojects now in existence Cuent income is not adequate to accomplish this Because the availability of lands is unpedictable, the Commission must keep a cash balance on hand sufficient to take advantage of the oppotunities when they aise Although the Commission has the powe of condemnation to obtain wildlife lands, it has neve used this authoity In addition to the pesent wildlife aeas, thee is a need to obtain and develop additional winteing aeas fo the pimay use of Roosevelt elk in westen Oegon if the heds now established ae to thive and emain in a healthy condition Thee appeas to be no possibility of initiating such a pogam within the pesent financial estaints imposed on the Commission Lands owned by the Commission and devoted to wildlife poduction and public eceation do not go off the county tax olls The Commission pays in lieu taxes on such lands The development of lands fo wildlife and public eceational oppotunities is among a numbe of pessing needs that must be met in the immediate futue to assue the continuation of wildlife oiented eceational oppotunities R C Holloway :1 STUDENTS TRAINED Month of Septembe 3,254 Total to Date 213,437 FIREARMS HUNTING CASUALTIES REPORTED IN 1974 Fatal 0 Nonfatal 9 Page 2 NOVEMBER 1974

3 The Bobcat Is In Touble! by R U Mace Chief, Wildlife Division VIP o ^, High fu pices in ecent yeas have povided an incentive fo inceased tapping and hunting of bobcats, causing some concen fo the welfae of the species, paticulaly in southeasten Oegon Oegon law cuently classifies the bobcat as a pedato which may be taken by any means and at any time of the yea While it is difficult to measue populations since bobcats ae noctunal and not easily obseved, indications ae that intensive hunting and tapping have caused shap declines in the moe vulneable aeas Concened spotsmen and the Wildlife Commission conside that some contol of the havest is necessay to insue the bob cat's futue The Wildlife Commission will popose legislation at the next session calling fo the emoval of the bobcat fom the pedato list and classifying it as a fubeae The poposed legislation, if passed, would povide an oppotunity to establish seasons and bag limits whee bobcat populations ae low and whee damage to livestock o othe esouces is not a poblem Simila to the law affecting couga and bea, the poposal would allow landownes to take bobcats causing damage without fist secuing a pemit Since the fate of the bobcat will est with Oegon's legislatos and the public will be heaing moe about this inteesting animal in the months to come, a desciption and some highlights on its habits ae in ode The name, bobcat, efes to the shot tail on this ovegown tabby Anothe common name is wildcat and the baggat who claims he can lick his weight in wildcats would do well to econside A slende build, long legs, small feet, and shot tail ae identifying featues of the bobcat The face is ypically catlike in appeaance, being )ffset with conspicuous side whiskes )REGON WILDLIFE tif A_ 1 =i,dql' '4aA ; : klt,y _ t 4? and a neck uff White bands encicle the eyes which have elliptical pupils The eas ae eect and tipped with hai tufts seldom moe than an inch in length A gayish white spot is pesent on the back of each ea Geneal coloation vaies by aea; the animals in westen Oegon ae dake than those found east of the Cascades The winte coat anges fom yellow bown to dak bown above and is heavily fosted with white tipped hais and t4 LAI n ' if P1Ib p c 1',1 q ;alt 5S, mottled with dakish spots Undepats ae whitish and heavily spotted with black while the tip of the tail is black above and white undeneath The summe coat is much shote and lighte coloed without the white tipped fosting Males ae lage than the females, aveaging 15 to 25 pounds, although a paticulaly big animal may each 35 pounds in weight Total length is about 36 inches, including a 7 inch tail, and v Mi= ' i?(35 4 Page 3

4 height at the shouldes aveages 15 inches Bobcats ange ove much of Oegon except fo the moe settled valleys whee cove is lacking Few ae found in the spuce and fi foests at high elevations Cove is an essential equiement since the bobcat lives by stealth and cunning athe than speed Dense timbe and bush thickets intespesed with openings ae favoed in mountainous aeas while ough lava ims ae pefeed in the junipe and sage county of southeasten Oegon An ample food supply also is necessay and bobcats ae quick to move when pey becomes scace The bobcat is a solitay nomad, hunting at night and etiing to the neaest convenient ock pile, cave, o thicket at the appoach of daylight Nightly tavels ange fom 2 to 7 miles depending on the abundance of pey but such wandeings may be much moe extensive duing the beeding season o in the winte when food is limited The aveage home ange does not exceed 5 squae miles Many of the bobcat's habits such as its cuiosity, shapening the claws on a tee tunk, o giving voice to loud catewauls duing the beeding season emind one of an ovegown alley cat Like the domestic vaiety, the bobcat avoids wate unless foced to swim Similaly, the tacks ae ounded and placed nealy in a staight line as the animal walks The bobcat usually avoids a fight, pefeing to eteat if possible When coneed, howeve, it becomes a vicious fighte with couage and quickness to match Spitting and sceaming in age, the animal seeks a fim gip and attempts to disembowel its antagonist with apie like thusts of the hind claws Such qualities leave the bobcat with few natual enemies The lage pedatos may take some of the young but the wise adult aely becomes a victim Hunting with hounds is a popula pastime and pesents one of the geatest hazads to suvival as the animal is not a fast unne and geneally tees o seeks safety in the ocks afte a shot chase Meat is the staff of life and anything which can be bought down is fai game The bobcat hunts by stealth and aely pusues unning pey Keen eyesight athe than scent is elied upon and a favoite hunting technique is to lie in wait, then sping fom ambush at the appopiate moment At othe times the bobcat will stalk its pey and pounce fom close ange, coveing the gound in 10 foot leaps Although a good climbe, the animal confines most of its hunting to the gound Some of the favoite food items ae abbits, squiels, mice, and othe odents Bids, eggs, fish, and insects also ae taken as well as any available caion When odents ae scace, bobcats pey on dee and antelope, paticulaly the fawns, and ae capable of taking adult animals Domestic sheep and poulty ae not immune to attack and the occasional animal may slaughte moe than is needed fo food Although not pefeed, pocupines ae included on the hungy bobcat's menu despite the isk of embedded quills A ecent unpublished study by D Ronald Nussbaum and Chis Mase, zoologists with the Univesity of Michigan and the Puget Sound Museum of Natual Histoy, espectively, shed some light on food habits That study consisted of analyzing 177 scats o doppings collected thoughout westen Oegon duing the yeas 1970 though 1972 The bush abbit and snowshoe hae epesented appoximately 35 pecent of the identified emains while a vaiety of odents, including wood ats, moles, gophes, mice, and shews, made up 54 pecent Othe items included vaious bids (7 pecent), black tailed dee fawns (2 pecent), and beetles and domestic sheep, both of which epesented less than 1 pecent While not indicating volumes consumed, the doppings do eveal that the bobcat has edeeming featues as a contolle of pests and may be moe of a fiend to man than o often consideed The beeding season is in Febuay and Mach and the male may mate with seveal females, assuming no esponsibility fo cae of the young A ocky cave, windfall, o hollow log is selected fo the den which is lined with leaves and dy gass Gestation equies about two months and littes aveage two to fou kittens which emain blind and helpless fo the fist nine days The kittens ae weaned at two months of age but hunt with the mothe until winte when taining is complete Changing fashions influence the fu maket and bobcat pelts peiodically command high pices Last yea an estimated 4,500 bobcat pelts wee sold by Oegon tappes fo a total etun of appoximately $250,000 The aveage value of easten Oegon pelts was about $77, ove twice the aveage eceived fo those taken west of the Cascades Wildlife biologists do not feel the species in the moe open aeas of easten Oegon can suppot continued heavy tapping and some contol to pevent ovehavest is necessay It is unfai to classify the bobcat as eithe saint o sinne Pat of its eputation fo killing livestock and game is eaned but some of the losses ae offset by the lage numbe of odents consumed Contolling individual animals involved in damage appeas wise than declaing wa on the entie species On that basis, the Wildlife Commission feels that a legislative change in status fom pedato to fubeae is justified Authoity to potect bobcats whee the population is in touble and, at the same time, allow landownes to take individual animals causing damage appeas to be the most logical couse of action Such a step will assue a place fo the bobcat in Oegon's futue AN Page 4 NOVEMBER 1974

5 Some Good Reading We seldom call attention to othe magazines, but the Octobe Novembe issue of the always well done NATIONAL WILDLIFE has thee aticles we think ae outstanding and we would like to ecommend them fo you eading The magazine is sent only to membes but we suspect some of the libaies also have copies In an aticle entitled "The Scandal of Living Room Zoos ", Geoge Reige states in the subtitle, "To satisfy a booming demand fo exotic pets, millions of wild animals ae impoted into the county each yea; most suvive only a few months" In the aticle he points out the cuelty and waste of animals caused by the exotic pet tade Elsewhee in the issue, Jack Denton Scott wites unde the title "The Bison ae Back, But Wild No Moe " Much has been said about the demise of the bison in many aeas Scott puts it in pespective stating, "Today, the home whee the buffalo oam is as likely to be a pivate anch in the East as a westen plain It is no longe possible to have millions of wild bison unless Ameica's vast paiies ae estoed and domestic livestock eliminated" The thid aticle we found especially inteesting is by Pete Gwynne, science edito of Newsweek, and is titled "Hunting Unde Fie" and is said to be a seach fo common gound amid the upoa Thomas Kimball, Executive Vice Pesident of the National Wildlife Fedeation, states, "To whateve extent the debate ove hunting alienates one inteest fom anothe, it is countepoductive, diveting enegy and funds fom the lage battles fo habitat impovement, land acquisition, wildlife eseach, and impoved public education" If you can't un down a copy of the magazine fom a fiend o libay, you might ty witing to them at th Steet, NW, Washington, DC Don't know if they'll sell individual magazines, but membeship is not expensive and you'll get futue issues RES ' :s %41 7 :,w o_ \ 04,, ; 1 /if i fs Photogaphe Jim Gladson captued a athe unusual scene as two species of woodpecke shaed a snag On the left Is the faily common haiy woodpecke On the lowe ight Is the athe uncommon pileated woodpecke The haiy is about 71 Inches long; Its lage cousin, the pileated, some 15 inches long Removal of many snags has caused suvival poblems fo some bids This pai of bids was photogaphed on Sauvie Island L4611t Ai OREGON WILDLIFE Page 5

6 Bown Pelican by Jim Gladson The fall and winte months along the Oegon coast can be a ewading time fo bidwatches as many species of ducks, geese, and sea bids, not nomally seen hee duing the wame months, settle down in the shelteed bays to est and feed While most of the bids ae migating fom the noth, one visito defies the nom and heads noth to Oegon fom southen Califonia and Mexico It's the bown pelican This lage fish eating sea bid is fomally called the Califonia Bown Pelican to distinguish it fom simila pelicans on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States The pelican nests on small islands off the coast of southen Califonia and on both the Pacific and Gulf of Califonia sides of the Baja peninsula in Mexico The bid can be found in all Oegon bays and offshoe as ealy as June and as late as Decembe but the highest accessible concentations seem to be on the cental and noth coast in Yaquina, Netats, and Tillamook Bays Septembe though Novembe is the best time fo viewing the bid as it wheels and dives fo its food A full gown bown pelican has a wingspead of almost five feet The bid is an efficient glide and often flies in fomation inches above the wate It feeds by diving on its pey and seizing it in a long bill equipped with its own stoage pouch The adult pelican has a pue white head and neck while the younge bid has a dak bown cown and neck Until a couple of yeas ago, it was Page 6 NOVEMBER 1974

7 , \ v feaed the sight of this bid feeding and gliding low ove the wate might be lost The bown pelican population on the southen Califonia islands was diminishing apidly because of almost complete nesting failue The majo cause of this poblem was the pesticide DDT This chemical accumulated in fish and the pelican, though feeding, in tun picked up the DDT in its system The pimay eaction to this buildup of the pesticide was the laying of extemely thin shelled eggs So thin, in fact, that the eggs boke unde thei own weight o when the paents attempted to bood them By 1970 the poblem was so bad that only one chick was poduced fom seveal hunded nests on the Califonia islands The Mexican nests, while moe successful, wee also suffeing fom egg beakage Because of this failue to epoduce, the bown pelican was added to Ameica's list of endangeed species With the banning of DDT use in 1972, howeve, the pictue began to change Nesting success has inceased In 1974 ove 300 young wee hatched in Califonia's nesting colonies While nesting failue is still fequent, the disaste ate has declined and the futue of the bid appeas bighte The high pecentage of young bids spotted in Oegon's wates is taken as an encouaging sign that this late summe visito is hee to be seen and enjoyed fo many yeas to come + t e" ' "eta/ C %1 w e{ s o OREGON WILDLIFE Page 7

8 Would You Know A Dugong Fom A Gampus? by Jim Hape A what fom a what? Pehaps a bette question would be: Would you know a sea cow fom a dolphin, othe names fo the dugong and gampus These ae meely two of a multitude of maine mammals that inhabit the wates of the wold Maine mammals, as a goup ae one of the least undestood, yet one of the most fascinating membes of the animal kingdom Although maine mammals ae epesented by ove 100 species woldwide, only 30 have been sighted in Oegon wates, and only about five o six of these ae common visitos The geat gay whale, while not the most common of maine mammals in Oegon wates, povides the geatest thill when seen because of its massive size Measuing 30 to 50 feet in length and weighing 50,000 to 80, 000 pounds, this massive whale can be obseved between Febuay and Apil as it passes by Oegon on its nothwad migation to the Being and Chukchi Seas nea Alaska In the fall, the gay whale etuns to the estuaies of Baja Califonia, some to beed, some to give bith and all to eat One oddity of this ocean behemoth is that duing the 6,000 mile tip nothwad, duing the seveal month stay in nothen wates, and duing his southen migation, he eats nothing! Once eaching his southen destination, he begins to lunch up, but can eat only such tiny maine oganisms that it takes seveal thousand to weigh a pound And paents, the next time you want to complain about how much Junio eats, o how fast he is gowing, put youself in the place of a mamma gay whale Duing a eseach pogam in Califonia, a young whale consumed 1,980 pounds of gound up squid daily and gained 88 pounds pe day Thats a ate of ove 31/2 pounds an hou! Two species of sea lion can be found Page 8 Ik along the Oegon coast, the Stelle and the Califonia The Stelle is pehaps the most often obseved maine mammal because he inhabits the well known Sea Lion Caves The adult bull of this species eaches weights of nealy a ton, but the female is less than half that size Because of his geat weight the bull Stelles cannot cove gound eadily, but can maintain a haem of 10 to 20 cows duing the beeding season This is in compaison to the 40 to 60 females in the haems of nothen fu seals While many othe males of the animal kingdom jealously guad thei haems duing the beeding season, the Stelle bull plays it cool Requiing only a cetain amount of fidelity, he does not become ovely iitable if one of his cows goes off to an idle bull Some savage fights occu, howeve, and the necks of olde bulls ae usually scaed fom bites eceived in such battles The Stelle sea lion was oiginally called "lion of the sea" by a natualist named Stelle This seemed appopiate fo a sea going flesh eate with a swollen neck, a loud oa, light bown hide and lion shaped eyes with golden pupils Unfotunately, the name lion had aleady been taken by the Afican land fom, and did not seem applicable to the sea fom The othe sea lion that can be obseved in Oegon wates is the Califonia This animal seldom ventues into wates off the nothen coast, but is a fequent visito to southen Oegon Most people have b it& 2+'i j 4t: i,, is +' HARBOR SEAL seen Califonia sea lions, but few know it This sleek, shiny, playful individual is, with few exceptions, the only membe of the sea family that has been tained to pefom Pomoted as a "Tained Seal," the Califonia sea lion has appeaed in vaudeville, cicuses, and has staed in vaious television shows and motion pictues The Califonia sea lion is much smalle than the Stelle, the bulls weighing only 500 pounds o less The adult male Califonia has a noticeable cest on the top of the head which becomes lighte in colo with age Such a cest is missing in Stelle bulls The only "tue" seal that commonly inhabits Oegon wates is the hai o habo seal At times called the leopad seal because of its spotted coat, this animal is the most abundant maine mammal in ou coastal wates The habo seal sticks closely to the shoe and pefes shelteed bays and ive estuaies In Oegon, he has been obseved in the Columbia Rive upsteam as fa as Bonneville Dam and also shot distances up the Willamette Rive The newbon habo seal pup is coveed by a coat of soft white o yellowish white wool that is shed shotly afte bith The next attie consists of shot, stiff, coase hais that may vay in colo fom silve o whitish gay to almost black Spots, blotches o ings ae pesent on most animals The habo seal can be easily NOVEMBER

9 tiit'>'', obseved if a peson only takes the time to look A sand ba at the mouth of a ive, a smooth each of beach, a gently sloped ock in the suf; any of these may be a favoite spot Who can speak of maine mammals without thinking of the sea otte The etun of this beautiful, playful fubeae is one of the moe successful stoies in the ealm of wildlife management Its luxuious fu, consideed by many to be the most beautiful in the wold, almost spelled the animals' extinction duing the days of the ealy fu tade By 1900, only a few colonies emained among the Alaskan islands, and one small colony on the Califonia coast Potected by intenational teaty in 1911, the sea otte made a emakable comeback Though coopeation with the Alaska Depatment of Fish and Game and the Atomic Enegy Commission, the States of Oegon and Washington and the Povince of Bitish Columbia eintoduced sea otte into thei wates in the ealy 1970s Estimates place the total woldwide population at between 100,000 and 120,000 animals The antics of the sea otte have been well explained in the liteatue, movies and television The otte's habits of cacking shells on a ock balanced on its chest, of sleeping soundly while wapped in kelp, of caying its young on its chest; all have endeaed this animal to the heats of millions The Wildlife Commission is poud of the pat it played in binging the sea otte back to Oegon wates Space in this aticle does not pemit a complete discussion of all goups of maine mammals Howeve, each goup has manneisms o taits that make them favoites of people Fo example, Flippe, the television sta, bought dolphins into the homes of millions Pelous Jack, anothe dolphin, gained life long potection in New Zealand because fo 20 yeas he guided ships into Peloous Sound The dugong, sea cows of the Red Sea, may be the Siens of mythology since some of the stoies of memaids ae based on these animals Afte encountes with these peaceful mammals, Euopean seafaes bought home tales of seeing memaids nusing thei babies at the beast Maine mammals can be a souce of endless enjoyment if given the chance The next time you go to the coast, thow in you binoculas and plan on doing some sea lion o seal "hunting" Investigate the ocky outcoppings, the isolated ocks at sea, the shelteed coves, the kelp beds Visit Cape Aago and look fo sea otte; take a tip to Castle Rock off the southen Oegon coast and maybe, if you ae lucky, you will be one of the few people who have seen the nothen elephant seal, lagest membe of the seal family Ty it, you'll like it CALIFORNIA SEA LION STELLER SEA LION,f x Y,2 tx'''',,i,,:4:,, a e;,v, ':',"1!;41,,"', ::^ :!?5"`4Wfi" >::::,,( t ::,,,,,,,;:et` T, ;,,, '=,;,,,,,ß Y ' : '7l,h,i ';,l,t:y:,m3 C,, nys43,ÿ: `+::±^,,?; C :vo,,,, ;Cs, : Ae^; N > 'i g,,:,:! f ' f,; ',: ::%:): ÁS"jJ`nN^ _,; :,, e'1 OREGON WILDLIFE Page 9

10 This and that compiled by Ken Dubin Flight Of The Snow Goose The lesse snow goose, which summes in Sibeia and wintes in the Sacamento Valley of Califonia, is the subject of a joint study by the United States and Soviet Union Twenty fou geese wee maked with bight geen collas befoe thei depatue last sping fo Wangel Island, noth of the Actic Cicle Befoe its completion, the Russians will have banded o dyed 800 snow geese fo this fall's migation One objective is to detemine thei exact winteing aeas Anothe is to study the inteaction between the Sibeian geese and the hundeds of thousands that migate fom nothen Canada Audubon Whooping Canes Hang On Fifteen of eighteen whooping cane eggs hatched in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Pak this yea But because of high motality the fist six months, only fou to six young ae expected to each the winteing gounds at Aansas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas this fall Thiteen othe eggs wee taken fom the nests to Patuxent Wildlife Reseach Cente in Lauel, Mayland Of nine canes that hatched, five suvive Patuxent now has thee pais of captive eaed adult bids that wee matue enough this sping to epoduce They made peliminay gestues at nesting and biologists hope they may mate and poduce eggs next yea Fotunately, the flock of whoopes was in Canada when a long deaded event hit Aan sasan oil spill Only one adult that failed to migate noth was pesent this summe when a tanke leaked 25 to 50 baels of heavy cude oil into the Intacoastal Wateway at the efuge, leaving an oil slick fo ten miles The slick was quickly cleaed and the lone bid was diveted fom the aea by atificial feeding Audubon Page 10 * Unconstitutional? Huntes who take thei spot fo ganted will eceive a ude shock when they ealize the implications of a bit of legislation ecently appoved by votes in Geneva, Switzeland It was a constitutional amendment fobidding hunting in the state Sponsos of the amendment claim the ban makes Geneva Canton the fist state in the wold whee hunting is constitutionally pohibited Coloado Outdoos We Can't Go Back "We can easonably assume that most species of wild animals will have to continue to live on land devoted fist of all to uses othe than wildlife poduction In othe wods, wildlife poduction fo the most pat must be a by poduct of othe land uses The idea that we can `estoe' wildlife is untenable we cannot go back to `natue's management', if we mean by that to estoe natue's pimeaval conditions, except in a few isolated potected land aeas Unless pogams of wildlife estoation ae pogams of habitat impovement to pevailing uses of the land, they cannot pemanently endue" Edwad H Gaham in The Land and Wildlife * Sheep Huntes Successful Eight of Oegon's 17 bighon sheep huntes wee successful this yea in bagging a am, accoding to Wildlife Commission staff biologist Paul Ebet Most sheep huntes had no touble seeing ams duing the hunts, but seeing sheep and getting to them ove the ough escapments they call home ae often two diffeent things Success went up a little this yea Last yea thee out of ten huntes took ams fo a 30 pecent success ate This yea that climbed to 47 pecent The Elephant Of all the facts about mammals This is most elevant: It takes a lot of pape To gift wap an elephant Louis Phillips, Coloado outdoos * Lynx With A Jinx Wildlife Commission biologist Joe Pesek would have been no less supised if the calle on the othe end of the line had epoted an elephant shot on the outskits of Albany Lynx ae just about that ae in Oegon Yet the Albany taxidemist on the telephone said a man had just bought a Canada lynx to his shop, thee was no question about the identification, and it had been shot on its second attempt to aid a flock of ducks on a fam nea Albany Pesek went to the shop, confimed the identification, and then went to the fam whee the dama took place The cat had paid a late night visit and badly injued a domestic duck befoe being fightened away The duck succumbed Late, when the cat etuned fo seconds, it met an untimely end fo its toubles The Canada lynx, a close elative of the bobcat, is a common esident of the moe nothen climes of Alaska and Canada But it is vey ae in Oegon The scatteed ecods of specimens taken have all been fom easten Oegon While thee ae vebal epots of thei occuence west of the Cascades in Oegon, these have peviously been unsuppoted by specimens Nomally lynx ae found in alpine type habitat and feed lagely on snowshoe haes, squiels, mice, and bids Occasionally they ae able to kill lage mammals Lynx diffe fom the moe common bobcat in being lage, with longe legs, bigge feet, a shote tail completely encicled by black at the tip, and a geneally lighte fu Thee is always the possibility this lynx was intentionally eleased by someone o is an escaped pet, Pesek said, but the condition of the animal, its teeth, claws, and fu thows some doubt on this likelihood What a lynx was doing in the scub oak famlands of the Willamette Valley, so fa fom its nomal haunts and habitat, will pobably emain one of those stange mysteies of natue which will neve be explained El NOVEMBER 1974

11 s` DO YOU HAVE SOME OF THE PIECES fo a NATIONAL FISHERIES PLAN? Spot and commecial fishemen, developes and consevationists, vitually all Oegonians who take an inteest in saltwate fishing may find themselves affected by an upcoming seies of public meetings "Meetings open to all Oegonians with a stake in the futue of maine fishey esouces ae scheduled fo Eugene on Nov 11, Potland on Nov 12, and Pendleton on Nov 13," announced Kenneth Hildeband, chaiman of the Oegon State Univesity Extension Sevice Sea Gant Maine Advisoy Pogam Conducted by the National Maine Fisheies Sevice and Pacific Maine Fisheies Commission, with assistance fom the Fish and Wildlife Commissions of Oegon and the OSU Sea Gant Maine Advisoy Pogam, these public foums will examine a "National Maine Fisheies Plan" being dafted by the US Depatment of Commece "It is being developed in esponse to nationwide concen ove the condition of US maine fisheies, which have been declining fo seveal yeas because of heavy fishing by foeign fleets, ovefishing of cetain types of fish, and envionmental changes," explained William Q Wick, diecto of the Sea Gant College Pogam at OSU Afte it is completed late next sping, this plan is expected to set official govenmental policies on uses of maine esouces off all US coasts, and to have fa eaching consequences fo commecial and spots inteests eveywhee The pupose of the Oegon meetings is to obtain local opinions on fisheies poblems and suggestions fo management of fishey esouces, to make this fedeal plan esponsive to state needs "The plan is intended to be a tuly national one, not just a fedeal govenment plan, and NMFS is seeking infomation fom the public to make it this," said Wick The public meetings will be at Hais Hall in the County Couthouse Annex at Eugene, The Public Sevice Auditoium in Potland, and at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, and will begin at 7:30 pm each evening, accoding to Hildeband Moe infomation on the subject of the plan and meeting aangements is available fom the OSU Maine Advisoy Pogam, telephone , the Fish Commission, , o the Wildlife Commission, Commission Action At its Octobe meeting in Potland the Oegon Wildlife Commission authoized an expeimental pogam to establish Montana o Actic gayling in the uppe eaches of Fall Rive The gayling is consideed an excellent spoting fish in the cold egions whee it is most commonly found The Noth Ameican species is distibuted acoss Sibeia, Alaska, Canada, and in diminishing numbes in Montana At one time it was found in Michigan but is now extinct thee The gayling is in the same piscatoial goup with salmon, tout, and whitefish It has the chaacteistic adipose fin of the salmonids but can be eadily identified by its lage, coloful dosal fin In Oegon the whitefish is often mistakenly called a gayling but lacks the spectacula dosal fin Highly espected as a spot fish, the gayling finds paticula favo with the fly fisheman because of its voacious feeding habits on all types of insects and eady acceptance of atificials Gayling equie cold, unpolluted wate, pefeably whee they don't have to compete extensively with othe tout species In othe action the Wildlife Conmission voted to amend the boundaies of a special anteless elk hunt in the Knappa aea and to equie huntes to check in and out though a check station The decision to educe the aea by appoximately two thids fom about 6 squae miles to about 2 squae miles came because of stong local opposition to the hunt fom some of the esidents whose popeties wee within o nea the hunt boundaies The hunt was initially scheduled at the equest of othe esidents in the aea expeiencing sevee damage to holly ochads fom bowsing elk The Commission often schedules special hunts to alleviate agicultual damage in aeas with high elk o dee populations The Knappa hunt is limited to 50 pemit holdes, aleady selected at a public dawing held on August 30, and will be conducted on the fist thee weekends in Januay OREGON WILDLIFE Page 11

12 _ /, 11A A ie55 : BOBCAT,Th fw /v _ 09T7111 g,,y, Bobcats vay fom the lage pale vaiety of easten Oegon to the smalle ichly coloed ones of the Coast Range They pefe semi open íi, and imock county O; II ;It A shot bodied, bobtailed, long /egged cat weighing /5 40 lbs Body is pale yellowish to eddish bown with spoiled o steaked dak splotches Shoulde height /2`75; length 00"40:' Thei cuiosity may cause them to follow man I L,cP,: _, f7,, ',",''1,_ ) Eas tufted with white spot on back; conspicuous sidebuns; yellow eyes 11 V: on (fp ",, 4 e e Wzklyi, em= 9_ A Food availability detemines thei main diet Bobcats feed on anything they can catch They mate in Febuay o Mach 1 to41 kittens ae bon about May /st in hollow tees, thickets, o pefeably caves in the imocks Kittens ae bon blind; emain so about 9 days OßEGON WILDLIFE '(I1 COMMISSION 1634 S W ALDER STREET P O BOX 3503 PORTLAND, OREGON 97208