テレメーターによるツキノワグマの行動追跡

Abstract

複雑な地形をもつ山岳地域に生息地をもつ大型哺乳類については, 従来, その生態学的研究を行なうことは極めて困難であったが, 近時, テレメトリー・システムが, これらに応用されるにおよんで成果をあげはじめている。京都大学芦生演習林において, ツキノワグマ (Selenarctos thibetanus japonicus) の行動調査, 行動追跡をテレメトリー法によって試験的におこなった。行動追跡はわずか4日間しか成功しなかったが, 今後この方法による研究を発展させるために考慮されねばならない問題に対して検討を加えることができた。

An experiment to trace the movements of Japanese black bear, Selenarctos thibetanus japonicus, using radiotracking system was carried out in the Ashu Experimental Forest of Kyoto University. The weight of the transmitter including inflexible collar band was 1300 g. The frequency of the carrier wave was 52.6 MHz., and the battery life was about 160 days. The receivers used in the present experiments were portable type and designed for mountain use weighing 1.6 kg. The bear (male, 4 years old, 50 kg.) trapped in September 1968, had caged to the next spring. Then he had fitted with the collar-type transmitter and released on June 11, 1969. The bear's movements were tracked for only 4 days, but fairly located on the map. The moving area during the fast 3 days was about 0.15 km2. The tests of available area of the radiotelemetry system were also carried out especially in relation to the topography. According to these experiments, some problems concerning the application of radiotracking system to the ecological study of large mammals were discussed.