Data derived largely from ecclesiastical (mostly churchwardens') accounts, foxhunting statistics, local scientific society records and 19th and 20th century literature sources from a wide range of published material, have provided detailed evidence of the status and changes in distribution over the past four centuries in Yorkshire for fox (Vulpes vulpes), badger (Meles meles), otter (Lutra lutra), pine marten (Martes martes), stoat (Mustela erminea), weasel (M. nivalis), polecat (M. putorius), American mink (M. vison), wildcat (Felis silvestris) and domestic cat (Felis catus). In the case of the domestic cat, questionnaire surveys quantified population sizes and predatory activity in rural, suburban and urban situations. Evidence of the former distribution of all the carnivores studied provides a credible historical basis for biodiversity action planning and the substantial archived database and bibliography provide further research opportunities.

Data derived largely from ecclesiastical (mostly churchwardens¿) accounts, foxhunting statistics, local scientific society records and 19th and 20th century literature sources from a wide range of published material, have provided detailed evidence of the status and changes in distribution over the past four centuries in Yorkshire for fox (Vulpes vulpes), badger (Meles meles), otter (Lutra lutra), pine marten (Martes martes), stoat (Mustela erminea), weasel (M. nivalis), polecat (M. putorius), American mink (M. vison), wildcat (Felis silvestris) and domestic cat (Felis catus). In the case of the domestic cat, questionnaire surveys quantified population sizes and predatory activity in rural, suburban and urban situations. Evidence of the former distribution of all the carnivores studied provides a credible historical basis for biodiversity action planning and the substantial archived database and bibliography provide further research opportunities.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om det är möjligt att förutse var de okända fångstgropar befinner sig i landskapet med hjälp av karaktärsdragen från de kända lämningarna. Målet med detta arbete är att identifiera och registrera okända fångstgropar för att skydda dem från att skadas av skogsbruket. Denna studie förhåller sig till ett undersökningsområde (kommunerna Karlskoga och Degerfors) men diskuterar även andra fångstgropar i Sverige. Under detta arbete har de kända fångstgroparna nyttjats på flera olika sätt; med hjälp av terrängskuggning granskades området vid fångstgroparna i syfte att se om det fanns ytterligare gropar i närheten samt att studera hur en grop kunde synas i terrängskuggningen. Sedan fältbesöktes de kända fångstgroparna för att kunna sammanställa deras karaktärsdrag och med hjälp av detta, samt tidigare forskning och kartanalyser kunde fem karaktärsdrag uppmärksammas. I slutändan upptäcktes åtta okända fångstgropar, varav tre är kvalitetssäkrade av Ulf Eriksson, arkeolog på Skogsstyrelsen och är/kommer bli registrerade i Kulturmiljöregistret. Uppsatsen diskuterar också det nuvarande kunskapsläget om fångstgropar till olika bytesdjur, samt jakt- och fångstmetoderna vargskall och varggård. Detta har dessvärre inte kunnat nå en slutsats då det fanns alldeles för många osäkra faktorer i tidigare forskning som påverkade uppsatsen negativt. / This paper aims to investigate whether it is possible to predict the location of the unknown pits in the landscape using the characteristics of the known remains. The goal of this work is to identify and register unknown pitfalls to protect them from being damaged by forestry. This study relates to an investigation area (the municipalities of Karlskoga and Degerfors) but also discusses other catch pits in Sweden. During this work, the known catch pits have been used in several different ways; with the help of terrain shading, the area at the trapping pits was examined to see if there were additional pits nearby and to study how a pit could be seen in the terrain shading. The known trapping pits were then visited in the field to be able to compile their characteristics. With the help of previous research and map analyses, five characteristics could be noticed. In the end, seven unknown trap pits were discovered, three of which are quality assured by Ulf Eriksson, archaeologist at the Swedish Forest Agency. The thesis also discusses the current state of knowledge about trapping pits for various prey animals, as well as the hunting and trapping methods wolf hunting and wolf enclosure. Unfortunately, this has not been able to reach a conclusion as too many uncertain factors in previous research affected the essay negatively.