Tony Povilitis

Life Net Nature

The future of the endangered huemul deer in central Chile rests with efforts to recover a single surviving population located in the 3000 km2 Nevados de Chillán Mountains-Polcura Valley area. Field survey data for 1975–1997 were used to assess size, spatial distribution, and trend of the population. In 1997, it was estimated at 60 individuals at 12...

The recovery goal for the jaguar Panthera onca in the USA should be to restore significant presence with some reproduction, consistent with historical records. Nevertheless, the prevailing conservation strategy for the jaguar does not include restoration in peripheral range and merely seeks long-term survival of the jaguar within its existing north...

46 años de observaciones personales sobre la conservación del huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), una población altamente amenazada en Chile central Conclusiones: 1. La protección de un parque nacional o regional para el huemul y su hábitat es esencial para salvar y recuperar las especies en Chile central. 2. No debemos dejarnos engañar pensando que...

Reintroduction—defined here as the return of a species to a part of its range where it has been extirpated—is a critical pathway to conservation in the 21st century. As late as the 1960s, jaguars (Panthera onca) inhabited an expansive region in the central mountain ranges of Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, a habitat unique in all of ja...

Abstract in English and Spanish: Burst-chuckle and buzz vocalizations were made by male huemul deer during courtship. The burst-chuckle (BCV) consisted of a strong note followed by lower amplitude staccato notes, which resembled huffing or sharp "eh" or "ha" sounds. Less often, only chuckles or burst notes were heard. The BCV typically marked the...

Abstract: The "rut laugh" is a vocalization made by male huemuls during the breeding season. It consists of a rapid staccato sequence of notes. During this study, rut laughs averaged 23.0 notes and 4.0 seconds (n=78) and acoustically varied for and between individuals. Amplitude and frequency patterns, and other features of the rut laugh were descr...

Huemul alarms were abrupt outbursts typically 0.5 s in duration. Females were more likely to alarm vocalize than males and fawns, and the majority of their alarms were in response to a male. Bleats produced by male huemuls were short notes (median 0.1 s duration) most commonly emitted in a series as a male approached a female. They generally had a...

Observations of female huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) were made in late summer and early fall for 5 years at the Tamango National Reserve, Chile. Some females commonly occurred together while others did so infrequently or not at all. Most occurred disproportionately with dominant males while others were typically seen with less dominant males....

Abstract: The results of this study—high frequency of male-male conflict and male-female blocking near competitive male boundaries—indicated local territorial behavior. Variability in spatial overlap between competitive males suggested that multiple social and environmental factors were likely at play.

The recovery goal for the jaguar in the U.S. should be ”ongoing presence of jaguar with some reproduction, as historically was the case.” By contrast, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) draft plan would allow the species to be removed from the endangered list without any jaguars in the U.S. I explain the history of FWS’s aversion to domestic ja...

Podemos aplaudir los logros de conservación para el huemul que se han hecho en la zona de Chile central: Creación de áreas protegidas, designación de la Reserva de la Biosfera Corredor Nevados de Chillán – Laguna del Laja, monitoreo y investigaciones sobre la biología del huemul, acuerdos con propietarios de predios con presencia de huemules, etc....

States in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States manage the gray wolf (Canis lupus) at low population levels through trophy hunting and lethal control. Although protected in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), wolves are subject to removal when they cross park boundaries. Thus, wolf management in the states adjacent to YNP is pitted against...

A public opinion survey of 1,052 summer visitors to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in 2015 indicated strong support for a no-hunt, safety zone on nearby public lands to protect park wolves (61% yes, 20% no, 15% depends on specifics, 4% no opinion). Visitors who opposed wolf hunting near the park significantly outnumbered those who favored it (47%...

REPORTS (1993-2003): FIELD SURVEYS FOR THE HUEMUL BY THE SIERRA INSTITUTE (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA) AND LIFE NET, USA INFORMES (1993-2003): PROSPECCIONES PARA EL HUEMUL POR SIERRA INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Y LIFE NET, EEUU

Conservation biology is called a "crisis discipline." In a world undergoing rapid change, this science informs us about research, technologies, management practices, and policies that can help protect the earth's naturally-occurring biological diversity. The six chapters of this book provide insightful analysis on managing protected areas (Middle E...

and Summary Behavior of the huemul, Hippocamelus bisulcus , was studied during the fall rut in 1980, 1982, and 1983 at the Rio Claro, Chile. Data were acquired on group size and composition and on social relationships among tour bucks and three does, identified by natural markings. A range of behaviors involving interactions between animals of diff...

IN MY lifetime about a dozen wild jaguars have been killed in the United States. And few Americans heard about any of them -at least until now. In February, a wonderfully wild jaguar walked into a snare trap set by Arizona biologists and died shortly after his release. Now a US District Court judge in Tucson has ordered the US Fish and Wildlife Ser...

HIKING NEAR Yellowstone National Park recently, my wife and I met a wolf that howled at us with an intensity suggesting something more than a reaction to our mere presence on its territory. As wildlife biologists, we had been talking about an Idaho plan to kill wolves to produce more elk for hunters, and we imagined its plaintive voice asking, "Are...

UNPUBLISHED REPORTS (1993-2003): FIELD SURVEYS FOR THE HUEMUL BY THE SIERRA INSTITUTE (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA) AND LIFE NET NATURE, USA INFORMES (1993-2003): PROSPECCIONES PARA EL HUEMUL POR SIERRA INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Y LIFE NET, EEUU

In 1997, the domestic listing of the jaguar ( Panthera onca) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) made the killing of wild jaguars in the U.S. a federal crime and helped protect the animals against accidental harm from government predator control activities. Since then, a multi-agency Jaguar Conservation Team (JAGCT) has promoted education and re...

The only surviving population of huemul in central Chile (Los Nevados de Chillán) is in a classic downward spiral to extinction. Field survey data for 1975- 2002 were used to assess size, spatial structure, and numerical trend of the population. An analysis of the population in 1997 estimated a minimum of 60 huemuls at 12 sites, and a 58% populatio...

Naturalness is a concept central to natural area management and conservation. Its usefulness, however, depends on how it is defined and measured. Defining "natural" to include harmonious human influence has important practical and philosophical advantages over the alternative no-human-influence usage. The role of management depends on the kind of n...

Montana's Centennial Valley features a unique and species-rich mosaic of shallow lakes and wetlands. The valley and adjacent montane and alpine habitats in the Centennial and Gravelly-Snowcrest Mountains provide the best hope for maintaining ecological links between northern and central Rocky Mountain wildlands. However, land development and confli...

Situated at the convergence of four biogeographic provinces, the Gila River-Sky Island region of southern Arizona and New Mexico ranks among the most ecologically diverse in North America. Seven biological "core areas," consisting of 84% public land, include full representation of the region's major biotic communities as well as habitat sufficient...

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The mule deer endemic to Cedros Island, off Baja California, was believed to be endangered until a survey in 1980 revealed that around 300 still remained. The authors carried out a follow-up survey in 1985 in order to discover whether the status of the deer had changed and to devise a method for the long-term monitoring of its population.

A Report on the Deer of Cedros Island, Baja California, Mexico, 1 February--6 March 1985

The huemul has vanished from much of its historic range in Chile and Argentina; now perhaps only 1300 are left. Since 1976, wildlife guards have been protecting huemuls in some parts of Chile and in 1977 a huemul guard station was built at the Rio Claro with ffPS support. In 1980–81 the author censused the known huemul populations in Chile and repo...

The Huemul. An article published in South American Explorer, No. 10. June 1983. pp. 24-28.

These are archived field reports (in both English and Spanish) on surveys and preliminary studies of the huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Chile, 1974-1976.

Biting arthropods inventoried on Smith Island, North Carolina during late spring and early summer, 1971 included 21 species of mosquitoes, flies, and ticks. The environmental factors of daylight intensity, moon brightness, windspeed, temperature, time of day or night, and site location were found correlated in varying degree with the biting activit...