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Thursday, March 12, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Student studies area squirrels
By JENNIFER FORKER
Staff writer
Birds harass squirrels. Dogs chase them. But John Koprowski catches and shaves them.
Koprowski, Cleveland graduate student, has been researching the social structures of gray and fox students at University of Kansas since May 1986.
He lures squirrels into wire mesh boxes that hold peanuts. The squirrels enter the boxes to get the peanuts, then step on triggers that close the lids.
Koprowski then marks the squirrels by shaving small patches of fur. White fur then grows in the bald spots. He has shaved 50 squirrels, and each squirrel is marked differently so that Koprowski can distinguish between them.
Koproowski said that the squirrels weren't injured when he trapped them. He monitors the area where he sets the traps, and the squirrels never stay in the traps for more than five minutes, he said.
Squirrels mate twice a year, and
the squirrels on campus last mated during winter break, he said.
Female squirrels have a difficult time during mating season because they are pursued by numerous males, Koprowski said. Sometimes 15 males will compete to mate with another squirrel, but only one squirrel succeeds.
Kopowski said that research had intensified since the birth of a litter at the end of February.
"Things are really starting to get rolling now as individuals start producing." he said.
He said that his research was providing new insight into urban squirrels. He said that several researchers had investigated squirrel population levels, but that no one had researched the individual habits of urban squirrels in their natural habitats.
“It’s surprising that not many studies have been done on tree squirrels. I’ll have a whole lot of new and interesting research to present,” he said.
Koprowski said that gray and fox
"Individuals groom each other," he said. "They greet each other. It looks like they're kissing."
squirrels were more sociable than people had expected.
He said that squirrels from the same family played and slept together at night. The squirrels he studied were aggressive and often fought among themselves.
"They just beat each other up," Konowski said.
He said that squirrels scratched, bit and wrestled. He found squirrels with chunks of skin missing, tips of tails bitten off and pieces of ears missing.
"Most people think they're little, peaceful animals," he said. "They can get into some pretty good, nasty fights."
Koprowski, who spends 20 hours a week observing the squirrels, traps in a 14-acre area called Marvin Park which is east of the Memorial Campanile.
"It's a nice little laboratory," he said. "It's a unique setting and it presents me with some unique opportunities."
Koprowski said that the area contained an especially dense squirrel population. He said that he knew of only one other place, a park in Washington, D.C., that had as large a population of urban squirrels.
"It's a lot of fun to watch them," he said. "I'll be looking with my binoculars and get all of these people stopping and wondering what I'm looking at."
He said that people sometimes sabotaged his traps because they didn't understand his motives and didn't know that the squirrels remained uninjured.
Kowpowski is conducting the squirrel research for his doctorate degree and expects that it will take four years.
Many people said they thought that four years was a long time to study squirrels, but Kowpowski said he was only beginning.
"I'll probably only answer half of the questions I've raised," he said.
This squirrel is part of a socialization study being conducted by John Koprowski, Cleveland graduate student. Koprowski shaves a small section of squirrels' legs for identification and observes their activities in their natural habitat.
Conservation association offers unique internships
By LAURA BOSTROM
Staff writer
Student conservationists lead hikes into the Haleakala volcano on Maui, tag birds in Alaska and patrol the back country in the Grand Canyon.
The students are part of a 30-year old internship program sponsored by the Student Conservation Association in Charlestown, N.H.
The 700 positions vary and so do their requirements. For example, interns in a Florida national park need good skills for working with people, strong swimming ability and powerboat experience.
The association has a state-by-
state listing of the positions, which
is maintained by the data base.
wildlife refuges across the United States.
The positions are open to anyone older than 18, but most applicants are students, said David Buchanan, SCA assistant program director for recruitment, from his office in Charlestown.
Participants work a 12-week internship during the summer, fall or winter, spending 40 hours a week with conservation professionals, Buchanan said. The association pays for travel expenses, meals and housing
Housing varies greatly in national parks, said Buchanan, a former intern. He lived in a ranger station halfway into Grand Canyon National
Park during an internship in 1978, while other positions placed students in tents and trailers.
Buchanan worked on back country patrol, resource management and visitor relations in the Grand Canyon, and he said the experience led to his full-time job as a canyon park ranger a year later.
"You can gain a really good experience in fun, beautiful areas," he said. The selection process for summer positions already has begun, but the assignments will accept applications until all positions are filled, Buchanan said.
Positions in national parks, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, are most accessible.
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