The effects of capture and recapture on space use in large grey mongooses

Abstract

Susceptibility to capture and possible space-use shifts resulting from capture stress were assessed in wild large grey mongooses, Mongooses were captured with or without a reward (baited or unbaited trap). For up to 50 days after capture, mongooses avoided the area delimited by a ring of loom in radius centred on the trap location when captured without a reward, but no significant space-use differences were observed after capture with baited traps. We found no significant differences between capture on the periphery or in the central part of the home range. Despite the small influence that capture produced on the pattern of space use by mongooses in our study, it should be considered when radio.tracking carnivores.