CANADA GEESE DOING WELL IN MISSOURI; TURKEY DECLINE NOTED

JEFFERSON CITY -- The number of prairie chickens and Indiana bats in Missouri continues to decline, and wild turkeys are having a rough time. But gray bats are doing well, and numbers of giant Canada geese and upland furbearers are booming, according to the 1991 Yearbook of Population Trends for Missouri Wildlife published by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).

The annual compilation is based on information from a variety of sources, including hunters, trappers, conservation agents, biologists, even rural mail carriers. It provides a picture of how dozens of wildlife species have fared in the past year, and all MDC biologists to track their long-term progress.

The number of Indiana bats in Missouri decreased by 11 percent, continuing a decade-long decline. The good news is that their numbers are increasing or stable in Kentucky. Non-game Wildlife Research Biologist Rick Clawson says he hopes the decline of Missouri's Indiana bats can be reversed by implementation of a plan that includes research into the bats' ecology and protection of caves where they roost.

Gray bat numbers in Missouri still are below historic levels, but Clawson says recent censuses in maternity colonies are encouraging. Populations in many caves have stabilized or even increased, and he says population trends throughout the gray bat's range are encouraging.

Not so with the prairie chicken. Wildlife Research Biologist Larry Mechlin says the prairie chicken continues on a population decline that began in the late 1960s. Short-rrm increases have always been offset or exceeded by later declines. The current estimate of 3,000 birds statewide represents an all-time low.

Missouri's wild turkey flock has been increasing in size for about as long as prairie chicken numbers have been declining. Recent years, however, have brought hard times for Missouri turkeys. Unfavorable spring weather conditions combined with other factors have kept production of poults (young turkeys) below average for four years. The ratio of poults to hens was down 24 percent in 1991 compared to the long-term average, and turkey numbers are down statewide, although the exact extent of the decline isn't known.

Missouri's upland furbearers are increasing in number. Wildlife Research Biologist Dave Hamilton says he believes this increase is partly due to a reduction in the number of furbearers being taken by trappers. This, in turn, is a result of low fur prices. A state-wide survey showed red fox and striped skunk numbers about the same as last year, while raccoons, coyotes and opossums have increased significantly. Gray fox numbers showed a slight decline for the second year in a row. However, this comes on the heels of an all-time high in 1988. Numbers of this furbearer are still well within the average for the past 13 years.

Missouri's biggest waterfowl success story continues with the increase in numbers of giant Canada geese. A spring 1991 survey found tbig birds in 83 of Missouri's 114 counties. Conservation agents in 55 out of 109 counties surveyed say they believe giant Canada goose numbers are increasing in their counties. Only four said they believe goose numbers are decreasing.

Annual sampling of giant Canada geese indicates nest success may have been below average, but the species' long life and high juvenile survival rate make such setbacks easy to overcome.