Factors Associated with Raccoon Mortality in Iowa

Abstract

Biologists need to better understand the effects of harvest on the population dynamics of furbearers. Thus, we used telemetry and Cox's proportional hazards statistics to investigate how habitat factors and harvest regimes were associated with mortality patterns of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Iowa during 1983-89. Among birth-year (BY) raccoons, greater harvest levels (as estimated by direct recovery rate of ear-tagged animals) were associated with increased hazard, or mortality rate. We found no difference in annual survival among animals >1 year old (after-birth-year, ABY), and changes in hazard rate of ABY raccoons were not associated with greater harvest levels