Quite often in the spring, the media voiced a very unusual request - to participate in the calculation of nightingales. Listen with pleasure to sweet-voiced birds and respond to a request? Why not! But why do you need to know the number of inhabitants of forests, steppes, ponds? In order to protect and rationally use animals as hunting resources. But who and, most importantly, how do animals think? Do they themselves strive to register?
Animal counting
Many are involved in the calculation. Of course, first of all, huntsmen are owners of forest plots, experts on its inhabitants; hunters and hunters, aviators, and still attract volunteer volunteers. The account is kept in different ways, depending on the size of the animal, its biological characteristics. A mobile and hidden animal lifestyle makes it difficult to count. On the other hand, their mobility just turns out to be important when taken into account. Sometimes flying birds cannot be counted otherwise. Due to their mobility, animals leave traces of hooves and paws. But there are other ways to determine the number of animals: traces of their life.
Counting Methods
The main way of counting is visual, but this method is only suitable for large animals and birds. In ancient times, hunters were guided exclusively by animal tracks, creeping up to prey. This ancient technique has not lost its relevance now. Traces left in the snow, sand, mud - this is one of the most common ways of counting animals. Hunters and hunting experts judge in the wake of the successes of acclimatization of imported animals, determine the reserves of animals and birds.These indicators give an assessment of the productivity of hunting grounds.
But other types of traces are distinguished: litter, shreds of wool, gnawing on tree trunks, dropped feathers. The arranged shelters of animals and birds are also used in their registration, burrows, huts, nests, currents. Also, like songbirds, some animals are identified by voice. Roaring deer or grouse mating in mating season. Of course, this is a rather conditional method, but it is completely impossible to ignore it.
The easiest method for quantifying animals is using fresh snow, when they bypass the selected area along the perimeter and mark the existing tracks. Then, a group of counters, moving in a row, expels animals with noise and counts the tracks in the trial area. The data obtained in the area allocated for accounting can be transferred to the entire site, calculating the average number of animals.
Elks, deer, wild boars are counted, going around the site, and traces of entry and exit are compared. Local hunters, huntsmen have already noted the key ways of movement, you do not need to go around the entire site. It is easier to count moose, even separately for females and males, their tracks are different, but wolves follow a track and this makes it difficult to count.
Boars behave in an interesting way; there was a case when a male, a wild boar “escorted” an observer, followed him along a path. Nearby lay a female with piglets. Once even a wolf was walking. But you should not be afraid, animals are afraid of man. Counters put on orange vests. Animals usually do not pay attention to bright colors, for the most part they are color blind.
It is clear that there can be no great accuracy, then they re-register. Where there is no snow, the observer counts animals within the territory available for viewing. And also you need to remember about places for watering.
The most reliable is the calculation from helicopters. However, this method is expensive. But with the help of photography, counting the herd and the flocks from above will be the most reliable.
Since ancient times, humanity has studied and tried to streamline the number of animals on Earth. Since that time, new methods and methods of counting have appeared, they will improve, give more accurate results, and a person will always strive to preserve the species and individuals of animals living next to him.
