Show Title: A Story of Survival in the Wild
Producer: Al Williamson
Time: 27:40
Show begins here:
>>>TODAY ON IMPACT...A STORY OF SURVIVAL IN THE WILD.
---(One of the things that we haven't known is how do changes in water levels affect the survival of the kite, and also how they move throughout the state.)---
---(The golf-courseness, which is the open pines, open cypress stands, is good for fox squirrels. They seem to do well in it. They can move around, and they can move long distances easily.)---
---(These folks that kill deer at night, they're not hunters. They're stealing from me and you. We don't even classify them in as a category of hunter. They're poachers, outlaws, they're not the hunting public that you see in Osceola and Lake Butler Wildlife Management Area and some of the others. Those are sportsmen. These folks out here at night, they're just plain out stealing from me and you. They're poachers and they need to be stopped.)---
>>>THIS IS IMPACT. A WEEKLY LOOK AT ISSUES AND ANSWERS THAT IMPACT OUR LIVES AND THE WORLD AROUND US. PRODUCED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES.
Produced by Linda Kubitz.
---(music)---
>>>THE CONSERVATION OF THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES AND ITS SURROUNDING WETLANDS IS A VOLATILE ISSUE WITH AT LEAST ONE SPECIES CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE. BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR THE EVERGLADES SNAIL KITE. HABITAT MANAGEMENT MAY BE THE KEY TO THE SURVIVAL OF MANY TYPES OF WILDLIFE. WILDLIFE RESEARCHERS WILL HOPEFULLY UNLOCK SOME OF THE MYSTERIES THAT MIGHT HELP TO PRESERVE THEM.
---(airboat sound)---
---(She's going to come in....gunshot...a misfire.)---
>>>IF YOU THINK CATCHING A BIRD SOARING HIGH ABOVE THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES IS DIFFICULT, YOU'RE RIGHT. BUT ROB BENNETTS IS CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE AN EXPERT AT IT.
---(Keep coming...keep coming...gunshot...got her...Steve, can you get her...airboat sound)---
>>>TIMING IS EVERYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO CAPTURING THE ELUSIVE SNAIL KITE.
---(Hello, let's get these out of your way.)---
>>>BIOLOGISTS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES USE A NET GUN TO CAPTURE SNAIL KITES BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT AND LEAST DANGEROUS WAYS OF CATCHING THEM.
>>>ROB BENNETTS-UF WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: There was a number of chances that where the birds came in close where it appeared that we could catch them. But they were either turned wrong or we had a chance of injuring a wing that way or they were too close or they were coming in for a dive. There's just a narrow range of conditions where we minimize that risk of injuring the bird.
---(Now stop...settle down.)---
>>>THE FEMALE SNAIL KITE WAS GUARDING HER NEST FROM PREDATORS BEFORE SHE WAS CAUGHT SO SCIENTISTS WORK QUICKLY TO GET HER BACK IN THE AIR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
---(settle down)---
>>>A HOOD IS PLACED OVER THE BIRD'S HEAD TO CALM HER DOWN TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF INJURY.
---(Aluminum right leg....8-1-6-9-7-2-2-9)---
>>>BENNETTS: If a bird's feisty or something, as soon as you put on that hood they pretty much sit still until you're through with the whole process.
---(beeping)---
>>>A TINY RADIO TRANSMITTER IS CAREFULLY ATTACHED TO THE BACK OF THE SNAIL KITE SO IT WON'T INTERFERE WITH THE BIRD'S ABILITY TO FLY.
---(Here's where I pretty much have to go until I get this first piece to fit)---
>>>BENNETTS: The radio transmitters enable us to estimate dispersal. We know where birds are throughout the state. Where they have moved...where they've come from...where they've gone to. What the water levels were etc. in each of those areas. We read those year after year and it enables us to estimate survival over the long term and also to then eventually correlate it with water levels etc.
---(I'm going to take off the hood and I'm going to let her flap so we can feel how that fits after. Let her go ahead and flap her wings a couple of times)---
>>>RIGHT NOW, LESS THAN A THOUSAND SNAIL KITES ARE KNOWN TO EXIST AND ALTHOUGH THAT NUMBER'S LOW...IT'S A FAR CRY FROM FIGURES IN THE 1950. THE POPULATION HAD DROPPED TO AROUND 4 DOZEN BIRDS. HABITAT LOSS IS BLAMED FOR THE DECLINE.
>>>BENNETTS: Water levels are lower for the treatment of exotic aquatic weeds to changes in restoration of some of the historic wetlands to diversion of water for things like agriculture interests, urban development, etc. There's just a wide range of potential projects that influence water and use water throughout the state.
>>>WATER CONTROL STRUCTURES LIKE THE ONE YOU SEE BEHIND ME ARE USED IN QUITE A FEW SOUTH FLORIDA LAKES TO REGULATE THE WATER LEVEL. ANY CHANGES IN THE WATER LEVEL CAN HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON WILD BIRD POPULATIONS. ONE OF THOSE WOULD BE THE SNAIL KITE.
---(water sound)---
>>>BENNETTS: The snail kites primary food is the apple snail which is an aquatic snail so the food source of the kite is very much tied in with the water levels. And one of the things that we haven't known is how do changes in water levels effect the survival of the kite and also how they move throughout the state.
---(bird flapping)---
>>>THESE BIRDS CAN TRAVEL HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM A FAVORITE FEEDING GROUND IN LAKE KISSIMMEE TO ANOTHER ONE IN THE EVERGLADES.
>>>BENNETTS: Probably mostly, they've declined because of drainage programs etc. Drainage of the Everglades system. Drainage of many of the wetland systems throughout Florida.
---(There you go...hood coming off...O.K.)---
>>>ONCE THE SNAIL KITE IS RELEASED, THE TRANSMITTER SIGNAL WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO MONITOR ITS MOVEMENT ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA.
---(I'm getting 1-5-6-2 but I'm getting it way over there.)---
>>>BENNETTS: What we're doing is we're trying to determine now what water management practices will be detrimental, which will not be detrimental, etc. So that we can better judge before a project begins whether it's going to have an effect on the birds. And if all the projects are going to have a negative effect, then we can pretty much assume the birds going to go down the..down the road.
---(You got a...there's a nest over there in this point...right.)---
>>>BENNETTS DISCOVERED THROUGH HIS STUDY THE SNAIL KITE IS VERY ADAPTIVE AND IF THEY CAN'T FIND WATER IN ONE SPOT, THEY MOVE ON. IT MAY BE THIS LESSON IN SURVIVAL...ALONG WITH HELP FROM WATER MANAGERS THAT COULD END UP SAVING THE SPECIES FROM EXTINCTION. BUT BIRDS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE LEARNED TO ADAPT TO EVER-CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES. IT'S SURPRISING HOW CLEVER THE FOX SQUIRREL CAN BE WHEN IT COMES TO SURVIVAL.
Produced by Erin Easterling.
>>>DR. STEVE HUMPHREY- UF WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: Although the fox squirrel lives throughout the Big Cypress swamp, in the wild they're very shy. Difficult to see, difficult to find, almost impossible to study. In fact we tried to study them there and failed. But we found that they're abundant on the golf courses on the urban fringe of the west-southwest coast of Florida, so we began a study in golf courses in the Naples to Fort Myers strip, where there is quite a large population.
>>>UF WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST REBECCA DITGEN HAS BEEN STUDYING FOX SQUIRRELS ON SOUTHWEST FLORIDA GOLF COURSES SINCE THE FALL OF 1995 AS PART OF A RESEARCH PROJECT FUNDED BY THE BUREAU OF NON-GAME WILDLIFE OF THE FLORIDA GAME AND FRESH WATER FISH COMMISSION. THE PROJECT GOAL IS TO LEARN WHICH COURSES CURRENTLY HAVE FOX SQUIRREL POPULATIONS AND WHAT HABITAT FEATURES ENCOURAGE THEM TO LIVE THERE. DITGEN VISITS 60 COURSES IN LEE AND COLLIER COUNTIES TO RECORD DATA ON FOX SQUIRREL NUMBERS AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN. SHE IS ALSO CONDUCTING INTENSIVE TRACKING STUDIES ON 2 COURSES IN THE NAPLES AREA TO DETERMINE HOW FOX SQUIRRELS ARE USING THE ENVIRONMENT. ONE OF THESE IS THE CYPRESS COURSE AT ROYAL POINCIANNA COUNTRY CLUB, A COURSE WITH 25-40 FOX SQUIRRELS.
>>>REBECCA DITGEN - UF WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: Fox squirrels are native to the pine forests that burn with open understories, and they, as we've seen today, spend a lot of time on the ground. And so the golf courses, which is the open pines, open cypress stands, is good for fox squirrels. They seem to do well in that. They can move around and they can move long distances easily. This golf course is particularly good I think because they have a lot of large stands of trees, they have a good quantity of large pines, good quantity of large cypress. They have over 3,000 palms, cabbage palms, native palms, and they have the queen palms and a lot of lakes, a lot of water.
>>>5 DAYS A WEEK, DITGEN TRACKS THE SQUIRRELS SHE HAS RADIO COLLARED, TO GATHER DATA THEIR MOVEMENTS AND USE OF THE HABITAT. FOX SQUIRRELS ARE VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE GRAY SQUIRRELS MOST PEOPLE SEE IN THEIR YARD. THEY'RE VERY LARGE SQUIRRELS WITH VARYING COLORATION OF BLACK, BLONDE, AND RED.
>>>DITGEN: They're a very graceful squirrel. They're on the ground a lot, and they leap and move and so forth, so I think people find them beautiful to watch, certainly the native Floridians that I talk to, the people who've been here a long time, take real pride in having fox squirrels around, they like them a lot.
>>>SOMETIMES A SQUIRREL'S COLLAR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, AS WITH THIS MALE, BUT CATCHING IT ISN'T ALWAYS EASY AND CAN TURN INTO A SORT OF GAME. DITGEN OFTEN TRIES PEANUT BUTTER, AND A LITTLE COAXING, BUT SOMETIMES THAT'S NOT ENOUGH. FOR A SQUIRREL TO ENTER A CAGE.
>>>HERE IS ONE OF THE FEMALE SQUIRRELS BRINGING MOSS BACK TO HELP BUILT HER NEST.
---(Ditgen comments on how the squirrel climb up the back side of the tree to hide.)---
>>>ALL OF DITGEN'S RESEARCH IS DONE ON GOLF COURSES, BUT SHE IS INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THEIR MOVEMENT AND FEEDING HABITS IN THE WILD. THIS YOUNG MALE WAS BROUGHT TO THE CONSERVANCY WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER IN NAPLES AS A BABY. HE IS NOW OLD ENOUGH TO GO OUT ON HIS OWN AND DITGEN AGREED TO PUT A RADIO COLLAR ON HIM, SO HE CAN BE TRACKED IN HIS HOME RANGE. HE WILL BE RELEASED IN A SPOT MUCH LIKE THIS ONE IN THE BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE.
>>>THE BIG CYPRESS FOX SQUIRREL HAS BEEN ON THE THREATENED SPECIES LIST FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. MANY FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO ITS DECLINE, INCLUDING HUNTING AND CONTROL OF NATURAL FIRES, WHICH DITGEN SAYS REALLY BOILS DOWN TO ONE THING.
>>>DITGEN: People. Whether it's in the wild and changing that or whether it's development, it's habitat alteration.
>>>THIS PROJECT SHOULD PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION ON HOW GOLF COURSES CAN BENEFIT FOX SQUIRREL SURVIVAL THROUGH BETTER MAINTENANCE PRACTICES, COURSE DESIGN, AND ADDING NATIVE PLANTS THAT PROVIDE A FOOD SOURCE FOR THE SQUIRRELS. GARY GRIGGS, SUPERINTENDENT OF ROYAL POINCIANNA WELCOMES MANAGEMENT ADVISE THAT COULD HELP PROTECT THESE THREATENED SQUIRRELS.
>>>GARY GRIGGS - SUPERINTENDENT - ROYAL POINCIANNA GOLF CLUB: If Rebecca can show us ways that we can help the Big Cypress fox squirrel then-then we want to do it, cause we want to be the good guys. And, this happens to be a story that we think is a good story is that these squirrels are doing good, and they are doing good on golf courses, and from what I understand, the golf courses have become kind of a haven for them, so that's good for us.
>>>INFORMATION FROM THIS FIELDWORK WILL BE ANALYZED TO HELP CREATE A MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR FOX SQUIRRELS IN URBAN NAPLES. HOPEFULLY STUDIES LIKE THIS ONE WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWERS TO HELP MAN AND SQUIRREL SHARE FLORIDA'S REMAINING GREEN SPACE. HELPING ANIMALS COEXIST WITH HUMANS IS A CONCERN ON LAND AS WELL AS IN THE WATER. HUMANS ARE CONSTANTLY HAVING IMPACT ON MARINE CREATURES LIKE THE FLORIDA MANATEE. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT IN OUR MARINE ENVIRONMENT CAN IMPROVE THEIR CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.
Produced by Bill Kelsey.
---(music)---
>>>THEY LIVE IN ANOTHER WORLD, ALMOST A DREAM. MOVING IN A SLOW MOTION BALLET, THEY ARE CLUMSY BUT STILL BEAUTIFUL SOMEHOW.
---(boat engine)---
>>>BUT NOW THEIR WORLD IS VANISHING LIKE A DREAM, AND RESEARCHERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS ARE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHY AND HOW WE CAN SAVE THEIR WORLD. SOME OF THE ANSWERS MAY BE FOUND IN FOOD.
>>>LYNN LEFEBVRE -UF WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: For any endangered species, what it eats is incredibly important. We have to be able to protect that resource and make sure there will always be food available.
>>>THAT'S A PROBLEM UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON AS PART OF A RECENT STUDY OF MANATEE FEEDING HABITS.
>>>WANDA JONES -UF RESEARCHER: With seasonal changes I'm curious to find out whether or not they change the foods they eat during the winter as compared to what they eat during the summer, possibly looking for more protein during the summer or during the winter than they would carbohydrates possibly.
>>>UF GRADUATE STUDENT WANDA JONES HAS COMPLETED A STUDY OF FOUR CAPTIVE MANATEES AT HOMOSASSA SPRINGS, FLORIDA. THAT STUDY INVOLVED A LOT OF HARD WORK. IT'S QUITE A JOB PREPARING A FEAST FOR A SEA GIANT. FIRST THE MANATEES FAVORITE FOODS ARE COLLECTED - WATER HYACINTH, HYDRILLA AND VARIOUS SEA GRASSES. THEN THE FOODS ARE TIED TO A SUBMERSIBLE FRAME.
>>>JONES: The plants are put on the frames randomly so the manatees don't memorize where they were if I were to put them in the same spot. So that when I come out to put the plants on the frames, they're just somewhere on the frame and the manatees will have no idea where.
>>>THEN THE FRAMES ARE SUBMERGED IN THE WATER AND PRETTY SOON, WELL, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER.
>>>JONES: I have people call it a salad bar because that's what it looks like. I submerge the frame in the isolation cage that I work in. I allow one manatee to enter, and then I observe what that manatee eats, what its preference order is. I record that on the data sheet, and once the manatee finishes the trial then she goes out the other end of the cage and we shut the doors, take that frame out and put another one in and do a second manatee.
>>>YOU MIGHT NOT THINK A MANATEE WOULD BE VERY PARTICULAR ABOUT WHAT IT EATS. AFTER ALL, THEY EAT FIVE TO SIX HOURS A DAY. THAT COMES TO ROUGHLY SEVEN PERCENT OF THEIR BODY WEIGHT OR 50 TO 100 POUNDS OF VEGETATION EACH DAY. BUT IT DOES MATTER...A LOT.
>>>LEFEBVRE: We've found sea grasses are an incredibly important part of the manatee's diet. The two dominant sea grasses on the east coast of Florida are definitely the major food item for manatees even though they can eat fresh water plants. I think it would be very detrimental if we lost the sea grasses.
>>>AND SOME HUMAN ACTIVITIES THREATEN SEA GRASSES IN AREAS WHERE MANATEES LIKE TO GRAZE. THAT COULD PUT THE PEACEFUL SEA MAMMALS IN A TIGHT SPOT.
>>>LEFEBVRE: With sea grass we are very concerned that man's activities such as dredging or indirect activities such as boating or sewage treatment can impact the amount of light that reaches the plants. They need light to photosynthesize and reproduce thICSelves.
>>>AN IMPORTANT STEP IN THE RESEARCH IS STUDYING FEEDING HABITS OF MANATEES IN THE WILD...SUCH AS THESE MANATEES AT BLUE SPRINGS, FLORIDA.
>>>JONES: They area a totally different group of animals in a totally different area, and they're also wild, not captive. So, I'm interested in seeing what their preference might be.
>>>LEFEBVRE: We're interested in finding out where manatees are doing most of their feeding and what species of plants are the most important to them to make certain those aspects of this biology will be worked into the management plans to protect them. It's essential that their food be protected or all other attempts to protect the species will fail.
>>>THE MANATEE SEEM TO SIMPLY DRIFT THROUGH THEIR BLUE WORLD, WHILE ABOVE WE RUSH AFTER EVERY DAY'S SETTING SUN, OUR RACE FOR PLEASURE AND CRUSH FOR GROWTH TURNING THEIR WORLD DARK, THEIR FUTURES EVER DIMMER. THEY MIGHT NOT KNOW IT, BUT THE MANATEES ARE IN A RACE TOO. AND THEIR LOSS COULD BE OUR LOSS.
>>>JONES: The interesting thing about manatees is that they each have their own personality. They each have their own moods on a different day. So, that basically says that they are each individuals.
>>>LEFEBVRE: I'm one of those that thinks their round body shape and very slow movement and gentleness is extremely appealing. Most people refer to them as gentle giants and that quality in particular attracts people to them.
>>>PEOPLE OF ALL AGES.
---(Yeah. So funny. Look at the manatees.)---
---(music)---
>>>JUST AS THE MANATEE'S EXISTENCE IS BEING AFFECTED BY MAN'S ENCROACHMENT SO IS THE VARIETY OF WILDLIFE IN FLORIDA'S TIMBERLAND.
Produced by Erin Easterling.
>>>FLORIDA HAS OVER 16 MILLION ACRES OF FORESTED LAND WHICH PROVIDES A HABITAT TO A WIDE VARIETY OF ANIMALS. MUCH OF THIS LAND IS USED FOR PRODUCING WOOD AND PAPER PRODUCTS, SO EFFORTS MUST BE MADE TO MANAGE TIMBER AS WELL AS WILDLIFE. THIS COMMERCIAL TIMBERLAND IS CONSIDERED TO BE A PINE FLATWOODS HABITAT, CONSISTING OF PINE UPLANDS AND MANY SMALL PONDS. IT'S ALSO THE SETTING FOR AN EXTENSIVE STUDY BEING LED BY RESEARCHERS FROM UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES.
>>>NICK COMERFORD - UF SOIL AND WATER SCIENCE: The project we have is one on forested wetlands. The major question is what kind of changes occur with harvesting, if we harvest forested wetlands. The major emphasis right now, or one of the major emphasis, is um the hydrology aspect of it. Water budgeting, what kind of a water budget change occurs with harvesting of cypress ponds, as well as the surrounding uplands. And what kind, what direction of water flow is there and if there's nutrients in this water flow, is it potentially reaching the ponds, and does that cause any kind of long term changes, relative to species structure, stand composition and all, over-all water quality in the pond.
>>>UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GRADUATE STUDENT ELIZABETH O'NEILL HAS ONE OF MANY DIFFERENT RESEARCH PROJECTS LOOKING AT A PINE FLATWOODS ECOSYSTEM BEFORE AND AFTER IT IS CLEAR-CUT.
>>>ELIZABETH DOMINGUE O'NEILL - UF GRADUATE STUDENT: Pine flatwoods in Florida makes up about 50% of the habitats of the different types of habitats here in Florida and a lot of pine flatwoods here in Florida has been basically managed forests for timber cutting ...This is also a managed area, and we're trying to get and idea of what kind of affect that has on amphibians and reptiles as well, but mostly amphibians for this study.
>>>ELIZABETH COMES OUT TO THIS SITE AT LEAST 4 TIMES A WEEK TO MONITOR CHANGES IN THE LANDSCAPE AND TO CHECK HER TRAPS FOR THE ANIMALS SHE'S STUDYING.
>>>O'NEILL: This is a drift fence, and it has funnel traps on either side and basically the way it works, is the drift fence acts like a natural log would out in the woods on the forest floor. Amphibians and reptiles, when they walk into it, an obstruction like a log or this fence, they'll walk into it and then they'll, instead of walking straight back out, they'll walk along the log or the fence, and then they'll crawl into the funnel traps. You have to have the funnel trap right up against the fence, and then they'll get caught and they can't get out.
>>>IN THE TWO AREAS OF THE PROPERTY THAT SHE COVERS, ELIZABETH HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED OVER 40 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES.
>>>O'NEILL: When I find an animal, I remove it, and I measure it, weigh it, toe clip it, if it hasn't been marked already. and determine what sex it is if I can, if it's obvious, whether its an adult or juvenile, and then I release it. And the same thing with the PVC pipe, usually I catch tree frogs in there and I look inside and if I find them I do the same procedure and then put them back in the pipe and then that's it.
>>>AMPHIBIANS HAVE VERY SENSITIVE SKIN WHICH MUST BE KEPT MOIST IN ORDER FOR THEM TO LIVE. MOST SCIENTISTS WILL AGREE THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR SENSITIVITY, THEY ARE A GOOD BIOLOGICAL INDICATOR OF THE HEALTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT. FOR AMPHIBIANS LIVING A PINE FLATWOODS HABITAT LIKE THIS ONE, THE WETLAND AREAS ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL. MANY COMMERCIAL FOREST AND PAPER COMPANIES ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN HOW THEIR LAND MANAGEMENT AFFECTS THE ecosystems ON THEIR PROPERTY. THAT'S WHY GEORGIA PACIFIC OFFERED THE USE OF THEIR LAND FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY.
>>>BILL SCHILTZKUS - GEORGIA PACIFIC FOREST MANAGER: Georgia Pacific is committed to being the role model environmentally in forest management and as part of this commitment, that study should provide us with some good hard scientific data about the impact forest management on the environment as opposed to just perception.
>>>ELIZABETH SAYS BECAUSE HER STUDY IS LIMITED TO SUCH A SMALL REGION OF FLORIDA'S ACREAGE, THE RESULTS CAN NOT BE APPLIED TO ALL PINE FLATWOOD ecosystems. BUT SHE HOPES SOME OF THE INFORMATION CAN BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER STUDIES.
>>>O'NEILL: We need to incorporate what we learn from these studies into management whether that's to just try to conserve or to actively manage somehow, or change management a little bit in some of these timberlands that's something to be considered, after you get the information.
>>>BECAUSE THIS PROJECT IS THE FIRST TO STUDY A PINE FLATWOODS BEFORE AND AFTER CLEAR-CUTTING, RESEARCHERS AND FOREST MANAGERS LOOK FORWARD TO ANY NEW INFORMATION THAT MAY HELP IMPROVE FORESTED WETLANDS AND CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SNAKES, SKINKS, AND FROGS WITH A HEALTHY HOME. BUT REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES THAT NEED PROTECTION IN THEIR NATIVE HABITAT. EVEN A SPECIES AS COMMON AS WHITE-TAILED DEER CAN BENEFIT FROM WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.
Produced by Linda Kubitz.
---(trucking driving by)---
>>>IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DEER, HAS THE MARKINGS OF A DEER, AND EYES GLOW AT NIGHT LIKE A DEER, THEN IT MUST BE A DEER. RIGHT? NOT IN THIS CASE. HIS NAME IS BENNY AND ALTHOUGH THIS DEER IS A FAKE, THE PENALTY FOR TAKING A SHOT AT HIM IS FAR FROM IT.
>>>CAPT. BILL GLOVER - FL GAME & FISH COMMISSION: The maximum is one year for a first degree misdemeanor. That's a serious charge and like I said county judges really back us up on this so it's a good law. It's used a lot. There's confiscation parts of the law where if you're caught, you could lose your vehicle, guns, lights, so it's a serious charge.
---(Sir, you do understand that having a gun and the lights do not mix. It's a violation of Florida statute 3-7-2-9-9 that's shining a light while in possession of a gun.)---
>>>GLOVER: These folks that kill deer at night, they're not hunters. They're stealing from me and you. We don't even classify them in the category of a hunter. They're poachers ...outlaws...they're not the hunting public that you see in Osceola and Lake Butler Wildlife Management Areas or some of the others. Those are sportsmen. These folks out here at night, they're just plain out stealing from me and you...they're poachers and they need to be stopped.
---(You can shine a light, look at deer, bring your family but the two do not mix...that's the gun and the light)---
>>>WHEN IT COMES TO PUTTING A STOP TO THIS TYPE OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITY....THE FLORIDA GAME AND FISH COMMISSION IS TURNING THE TABLES ON POACHERS...NOW, ILLEGAL HUNTERS ARE BECOMING THE HUNTED. WILDLIFE OFFICERS HAVE POACHERS IN THEIR SIGHTS AND THEY'RE TAKING AIM.
---(engine noise)---
>>>GLOVER: That's one of the first laws that was enacted in the state of Florida was it was illegal to take deer by a gun and artificial light at night. And...they're so easy to kill. When you put a light on that deer, he freezes and stands there and looks at you and lets you take a shot and you know generally close to it's real easy to kill them. You can wipe out a deer herd pretty quick.
---(plane starting engine)---
>>>LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AREN'T LIMITED TO CATCHING POACHERS FROM THE GROUND. AERIAL SURVEILLANCE IS ALSO USED AS AN EYE ON THE SKY AND IT CAN BE ESPECIALLY EFFECTIVE AT NIGHT.
>>>SGT. JOE JOHNSTON-FL GAME & FISH COMMISSION: On a clear night, I've spotted lights 30-35 miles away and then of course the speed of the aircraft, I'm able to get there in just a few minutes and from the air I can talk to officers all over the county with the altitude that I have.
>>>ABOUT 20% OF FLORIDA'S WHITE-TAILED DEER ARE HARVESTED EACH YEAR BUT ONLY HALF OF THAT FIGURE RESULTS FROM LEGAL HUNTING. WILDLIFE RESEARCHERS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA SAY ALTHOUGH IT'S DIFFICULT TO JUDGE POPULATION CHANGES, POACHING IS HAVING A DRAMATIC IMPACT.
>>>DR. RON LABISKY-UF WILDLIFE ECOLOGIST: We assume that approximately 60-thousand deer are taken annually in the sport harvest in Florida. We simply double that. We believe that the total take of deer is about 120-thousand so therefore our illegal kill is perhaps equal to our legal kill of deer in the state of Florida.
---(music)---
>>>WILDLIFE EXPERTS SAY 30 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE VERY FEW DEER IN AREAS LIKE NORTH FLORIDA...BUT WITH NEW MANAGEMENT PRACTICES LIKE THE DECOY DEER PROGRAM, THE WHITE-TAILED DEER POPULATION HAS BEEN ABLE TO REBOUND. IN FACT, IT'S HOPED WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON EVEN THE MOST THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES AND HELP THEM HAVE THEIR OWN STORIES OF SURVIVAL IN THE WILD.
>>>FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SUBJECTS SEEN TODAY ON IMPACT, AND A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO IMPACT MAGAZINE, WRITE TO IMPACT, P.O. BOX 110190, GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, 32611-0190. OR CALL 352-392-0437. TRANSCRIPTS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR SIX DOLLARS. VIDEO COPIES ARE TWELVE DOLLARS. VISA AND MASTERCARD ARE ACCEPTED. AND REMEMBER TO VISIT OUR WEB PAGE FOR MORE ON UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.
>>>IMPACT, A WEEKLY LOOK AT ISSUES AND ANSWERS THAT IMPACT OUR LIVES AND THE WORLD AROUND US. IT'S PRODUCED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES.
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