13 months ago
DAVIS, CA - According to UC Davis officials, researchers will launch a birth-control program to curb the population of the so-called Fox Squirrels.
Seven years ago, the school says none of the animals existed on campus. Now, there are estimated to be at least 400.
"They're cute. They seem great to have around," said Ecology graduate student Sara Krause. "But what happens is, they get very aggressive when people feed them."
She says they can also disrupt campus buildings and nearby farm fields.
That's why faculty wildlife experts and their students will trap the squirrels, mark them and study their behavior throughout the fall and winter.
Next summer, the squirrels will be recaptured. Some of them will receive hormone birth control injections, while others just get a placebo as scientific control for comparison.
Researchers hope to reduce the number of squirrels living at UC Davis and to test the new form of birth-control.
"It works just like vaccines for any disease, only it's a vaccine against being able to produce sperm and eggs," said Krause.
"Our goal is not to hurt the animals that find our grounds so attractive," said Sal Genito, Director of the Buildings and Grounds Division of Facilities Management at UC Davis. "It is to limit their ecological and human-health impacts as effectively and humanely as possible."
News10/KXTV
