IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Andr‚n, H.; Linnell, J.; Odden, J. | |
| Compensation for carnivore killed reindeer and lynx survey | |
| 2009 Conference Proceeding | |
The compensation for predator-killed reindeer in Sweden is dependent on the number of predators in the reindeer management units (districts, villages). The quality of the survey of predator population (lynx, wolverine, wolf, bear and golden eagle) will therefore be essential for the compensation system to function correct and just. Furthermore, the management of predators in both Sweden and Norway needs high quality survey to make informed management decisions (e.g. hunting quotas). The aim with the survey is to find all lynx family groups and to accurately separate between different groups. The lynx survey in Sweden and Norway is performed in January and February by snow tracking. Tracks from two or more individuals are considered to be a lynx family group, i.e. an adult female with her offspring (9 months old). In Sweden, one tries to separate between two neighboring family groups by simultaneous tracking. When this is not possible, an alternative is to use the distance between two family groups. If this distance exceeds 25 km they should be considered two separate lynx family groups and compensation will be given accordingly. In Norway, the number of lynx family groups in an area is estimated from the accumulated observations of such groups. The observations are grouped together into separate family groups using distance criteria. However, the use of the distance criteria might cause some misclassifications, i.e. one family group may be classified as two groups (over-estimation) or two neighboring groups may be counted as one group (under-estimation). We used GPS-marked female lynx with kittens to estimate both errors. The family groups are only a segment of the total lynx population and one multiplies the number of family groups by approximately 5.5 to 6 to get the total lynx population. However, there is large between-year variation in this factor due to differences in reproduction and survival of the kittens from birth to mid winter (Jan and Feb). Thus, the total adult lynx population might be the same even if the number of family groups has changed from one year to another. Such erroneous interferences may have large consequences for reindeer and carnivore management as the compensation is based on the number of family groups whereas losses might more closely correlate with the size of the total lynx population. |
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