Utvärdering av lockmedel för marklevande predatorer under midvintermånader i Norrbottens inland

Sammanfattning: Many invasive species propose a big threat against the native fauna in the area that they colonise. Today the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is speeding from Finland over the border in to northern Sweden. A project to stop the spread and eliminate the individuals that already have established was initiated in the autumn of 2008. To investigate areas that might be interesting for raccoon dogs and to confirm sightings, cameras with auto triggering mechanisms are used. To get the raccoon dog in front of the camera some kind of lure is used. In this study three kinds of different lures was tested against each other’s. In the study the effectiveness on all ground living predators was tested not just for raccoon dogs. That was because of the species low population density in the study area. One commercial anal gland secretion from American gray fox (Hawbaker´s Gray Fox 100), one commercial food lure for predators (Hawbaker´s Gray Fox Lure) and one additional food lure that have proven effective in trapping smaller ground living predators in Sweden (fermented Baltic herring). The field study was made in “Norrbottens” inland during December and January 2009, where a number of cameras were placed in subjective places to test the different lures. The amount of pictures taken during the field study was not enough to detect any significant difference in attraction between using a lure or not, but with the three observed tracks in front of cameras lacking pictures there were a significant difference at the 7% level of significance between using a lure or not. The results from this study was not able to statistically significant prove any difference in efficiency between the three different lures used. The result from this study suggests, with some uncertainty, that using lures to attract predators works also during winter. Cameras with lures to confirm sightings during short time periods in winter are therefore suggested to be implemented. But the usage of a permanent camera grid for surveillance of raccoon dogs during this season cannot be recommended based on experience of the poor camera function from this study and the biology of the raccoon dog.