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Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are frequently captured with leg-hold traps for reintroduction, relocation to reduce depredations on livestock, or as subjects for research projects. Wolves captured with leg-hold traps often sustain injuries to their feet, legs, and teeth during struggles to escape. Other studies have shown that the use of tranquilizer devices on leg-hold traps reduces such injuries to coyotes. This study (1) assessed whether use of tranquilizer trap devices (TTDs) on leg-hold traps reduced the severity of injuries sustained by captured wolves, and (2) examined the effects TTDs have on nontarget species caught during wolf capture operations. Data were collected from 112 wolves (21 pups and 91 adults), as well as 114 nontarget animals from 9 species captured during 1996 in Minnesota. Laboratory evaluations, including radiographs and necropsies of foot and leg injuries of 37 adult wolves captured in Livestock Protection Company (LPC) drag traps equipped with TTDs containing propiopromazine hydrochloride, indicated a significant reduction in severity of injuries compared to traps without TTDs (n = 23) or equipped with placebo TTDs (n = 15). None of the 42 nontarget individuals captured in traps equipped with TTDs containing propiopromazine hydrochloride succumbed to drug overdoses. Injuries were significantly less severe among nontarget animals caught in traps equipped with TTDs containing the tranquilizer, and fewer non target animals (7%) captured in traps equipped with TTDs loaded with propiopromazine sustained severe injuries and had to be destroyed, compared to nontarget animals captured in traps not equipped with propiopromazine TTDs (42%).

Animal movements and space use are fundamental components of life and play integral roles in organismal fitness, population dynamics, and the ecology and evolution of species. The heterogeneous distribution of resources and the movement required to access them, results in ecology being a fundamentally spatial concept. Thus, elucidating animal-habitat relationships is a central focus of wildlife ecology and conservation. I utilized GPS technology, resource selection functions, and generalized linear mixed models, to investigate the immediate post-release movements, denning chronology, release-site fidelity, and season-delineated movements, home ranges, and resource use for six, orphaned and rehabilitated black bears (Ursus americanus). This study represents the first application of GPS monitoring and resource selection for rehabilitated black bears. Data from this study provide insights into the activity of released rehabilitated black bear cubs, highlight trends among the release cohort, and illustrate the variability of individual behavior. Results indicate species-typical behaviors, with bears denning shortly after their releases, exhibiting elevated movement rates and dispersals during late-summer, preferential selection for certain habitat types based on season, and no utilization of anthropogenic-resources. One primary concern for large carnivores that have been captive-reared or had prolonged exposure to humans during rehabilitation, is whether they will exhibit natural behaviors after release. Behavior testing in other species has revealed that many traits exhibited in captivity often translate to wild behavior, however this had not yet been investigated for black bears. This study presents the first application of captive behavior tests for the investigation into black bear personality, defined by consistency in the individual differences in behavior across time or context. Through open field, novel object, startle object, and focal-animal sampling, we investigate the potential for personality in six black bear cubs. Results indicate consistency in behavior across five metrics for the bold-shy axis, and eight sampling events measuring responses for the activity axis, thus indicating personality. Analysis to identify correlations to wild activity metrics did not yield strong statistical support, however. Information presented here may provide a framework for future research into black bear personality, its relationship to life-history and ecology, and lend support for rehabilitation practices for orphan bear cubs.

A study of bottom invertebrates on the lower Logan River, Logan, Utah was conducted from June 1966 to July 1967. One objective was to evaluate on a qualitative and quantitative basis the invertebrate populations above and below a sewage entry in the river. Another objective was to study the year round fluctuations in the invertebrate population. The greatest variety of invertebrates was found in the summer. Chironomidae and Baetis were the only two groups found in abundance over the entire year. Populations were reduced during autumn when water levels rose, and they declined even more sharply during the spring flood. At the station below the sewage entry a wide variety of Chironomidae genera were present and Oligochaeta numbers were low.