Common sense game management. By Sally-Wolf

There are many factors that may lead to a low level of game in ones chosen hunting ground. Some of these factors may be natural such as a scarcity of feeding trees or man made like over hunting and deforestation. Wild game animals need suitable habitats, to sustain their populations at a viable level, for sustainable harvesting. What exactly is a "suitable habitat", well this is an area of land that possesses all the factors needed by a particular animal to not just survive but to thrive and increase in numbers. The following are those factors (1) an area of forest natural or other of varying size depending on the territorial needs of the particular animal in question,(2) an abundant high quality food supply and (3) the availability of suitable den and bedding sites .

Let me take each of these factors in turn.

(1) An area of forest. This is just common sense, wild animals need wild space to live in. We can't make more land but we can rehabilitate degraded forest by planting trees etc. There is little or no game in areas of bull grass as compared to virgin forest. Each game species will demand a different amount of land based on their level of territoriality/aggression. For example quenk would need more acreage per head than deer. Now a major factor in the amount of land needed by an animal is the food load of said parcel of land. Five acres of forest containing many and varied types of fruit trees would be able to maintain a higher population of agouti than a similar area of lastroe. All the land in the world would be useless without readily available food sources. You might hunt in a remote well forested area but because of a lack of feed the game population might be low. Trees don't count unless they provide food an example of this would be mono-specific stands of Caribbean pine. This brings us to the second factor.

(2) An abundant high quality food supply. The more fruiting trees and vines and the higher the quality of their fruit on a given piece of land, then the greater number of animals that it will support. The more feeding you plant the better for you. For a small investment in time and energy to plant a few feeding trees/plants, the rewards in future will be more than recompense. If you think that trees take too long to grow and bear then plant vines that will bear in a much shorter space of time, from a few months to two years. Here is what to plant for the game you chase.

FEEDING TREES --------------------ANIMAL

Chatigne/Bread Nut-----------------Agouti, Lappe, Quenk

Mango---------------------------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou

Carapo Nut----------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Quenk

Peewah---------------------------------Agouti, Lappe

Avocado/Zaboca----------------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe,Quenk, Manicou

Tie Tongue/Lay Lay/Manjack------Manicou, Tattoo

Jammon/Damson Plum-------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou,Tattoo

Hog Plum-----------------------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou, Tattoo

Penny piece---------------------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou

Pommerac------------------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou, Tattoo, Matte

Wild Chatigne------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Quenk

Noni-----------------------------------Manicou, Matte

Portugal/Mandarin Orange---------Agouti, Manicou

Guava----------------------------------Deer, Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou, Matte

FEEDING PLANTS/VINES----------------ANIMAL

Passion Fruit--------------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Manicou

Pome de Leon-------------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Manicou

Agouti Boli-----------------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Manicou

Barbadine------------------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Manicou

Wild Red Cucumber------------------Agouti, Lappe, Quenk, Manicou, Matte, Iguana

Cantalope/Musk Melon--------------------Agouti, Lappe, Quenk

Pumpkin--------------------------------------Agouti, Lappe, Quenk

Papaya----------------------------------------Manicou

I know this is far from a complete list of feed trees/plants but they should be easily obtainable for most hunters. Remember the vines are the fastest growing/bearing but the trees that have eatable seeds (Mango, Chatigne, Peewah) have the highest food value.

(3)Dens and beds. These are constructed by some and appropriated by others for their own use.

The construction of good den hole takes time and effort on the part of the animal and can be of use to animals that don't excavate dens of their own. As such you should always repair any damage done to a den hole or set when you excavate it to remove an animal. The more dens and sets that are in a given area of forest increases the number of safe sites for animals to raise there young.

I know this is not a highly technical and in depth article on wild game conservation but it shows that with common sense and a few simple steps you can greatly increase the game on your favorite hunting ground.