History of urban wildlife conservation

Abstract

Urban wildlife management is rooted in game management. According to Leopold, game management was first practiced in Asia by Kublai Khan during the latter half of the thirteenth century. At that time, game animals could not be taken between March and October. Such practice found its way to Europe where a long history developed of setting hunting seasons and bag limits to manage game species. The Master of Game is considered the oldest English book on hunting, written by Edward of Norwich, Second Duke of York, between 1406 and 1413. The practice of setting hunting seasons and bag limits to manage game species was transferred to North America with European settlement of the continent. For example, Rhode Island closed the hunting season for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from May to November in 1639 and Iowa established a bag limit of 25 greater prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) per day in 1878.