Spatial Analysis of Socioeconomic Factors at Found Locations of Orphaned Mammals in Champaign County, Illinois, USA

Authors

• Colleen Elzinga, Louisiana State University Veterinary Teaching HospitalFollow
• Stephanie Heniff, Tufts Veterinary Emergency Treatment & SpecialtiesFollow
• William Sander, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow
• William Marshall Brown, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow
• Csaba Varga, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow
• Samantha Sander, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Young mammals make up a significant portion of animals brought into wildlife rehabilitation centers. Unfortunately, some of these presumed orphaned individuals are inappropriately removed from their native habitat. As such, there is a need for educational community outreach centered on the proper identification of orphaned wildlife that benefit from human intervention, while maximizing limited resources of rehabilitation facilities. This study evaluated found locations of common mammalian orphans presenting from Champaign County to the University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic, Illinois, USA, between 2015 and 2020. The found locations of the orphans (99 Virginia opossums [Didelphis virginiana], 80 common raccoons [Procyon lotor], 441 eastern gray squirrels [Sciurus carolinensis], and 602 eastern cottontails [Sylvilagus floridanus]) were mapped using Geographic Information System. A spatial join of census block level socioeconomic factors was used to obtain at each found location the human population density, income, and education level. For each species, a two-sample test of proportions was used to compare the proportion of animals in high versus low socioeconomic groups. All 4 species were most commonly taken from areas with high population density (P PP

Recommended Citation

Elzinga, Colleen; Heniff, Stephanie; Sander, William; Brown, William Marshall; Varga, Csaba; and Sander, Samantha (2024) "Spatial Analysis of Socioeconomic Factors at Found Locations of Orphaned Mammals in Champaign County, Illinois, USA," Human–Wildlife Interactions: Vol. 18: Iss. 3, Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26077/2ba1-eb09
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol18/iss3/8