I am always interested to read about new and alternative conservation strategies. This is one I had never heard of before, but with a little imagination, one can imagine a whole plethora of alternative uses...
Diversionary feeding means providing alternative food, such as carrion, to hen harriers during the two to three months when they are breeding so that they kill fewer red grouse chicks. A short video showing diversionary feeding can be seen here (with thanks to Making the Most of Moorlands).
Preliminary trials carried out at Langholm during 1998 and 1999 showed that the number of grouse chicks taken back to harrier nests could be reduced by up to 86%.However, there was no measurable increase in grouse stock during these years.
Read on...
One trick you might usefully employ locally to where you are in Devon is trying to deliberately feed the local leopard population in Huddisford Woods. The easiest way to do this might be to simply obtain permission to shoot rabbits on local land, and regularly put a shot bunny a few feet up a tree in said woods.
ReplyDeleteThat ought to make it more difficult for a fox to steal the food, and will get the cat used to free grub in the area which smells vaguely of humans. This will make it easier to camera-trap the cat, with luck. All you need now is a source of bunnies...
An even better idea than Dan's, would be to shoot some of the local kids and regularly put them a few feet up a tree in said woods to feed the local leopard population in Huddisford Woods.
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