Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)

228 Phylum Vertebrata Vas County. FERENC MÉSZÁROS (1977) examined endoparasitic nemadotes in several specimens of the same species in the West Hungarian border region. He also did similar researches on bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). Earlier, work on parasitic nemadotes led him to examine specimens of Apodemus flavicollis, A. sylvaticus, C. glareolus and M. subterraneus (MÉSZÁROS 1972). Vas County has relatively little of the short, dry grassland with soft soil suitable for colonies of the European souslik (Spermophilus citellus). It was formerly found usually in the north-west of the county, in the Kemenes Ridge (Kemeneshát) and Vas Ridge (VasiHegyhát) and the higher pastures of the Rába Valley. Its extinction in the county has been mainly due to the ploughing of grasslands. A sizeable colony became known at the end of the 1990s, on the old airfield south of Kenyéri, where an area grazed by sheep provided an ideal habitat for the species. When the grazing ceased, the area soon became unsuitable for sousliks, and a survey in the summer of 2002 found none at all. Let us hope the last community in Vas County has not died out (MESTERHÁZY 2002). Common hamsters (Cricetus cricetus) are classed in Hungary as dangerous pests, against which protection is obligatory if the spring stock rises above a critical threshold, i.e. if more than two examples or more than two occupied burrows are found per hectare. Nonetheless, there have yet to be regular examinations for plant-protection purposes or surveys to estimate numbers in this country. It is important to note that the species is endangered or critically endangered in Western Europe and it features in Annex II of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, 1979. Although Western Hungary does not offer good habitats for hamsters, they appear in all three Western Hungarian counties, according to observations by GÁBOR NECHAY(1998). Otters (Lutra lutra) have enjoyed protection in Hungary since 1974, before which they could be hunted freely. According to literary sources, 105 head were shot in 1884 in Western Hungary (SZÉCSI 1892), 43 in 1946 (SZEDERJEI 1961), 153 in 1969, 121 in 1970, 199 in 1971, 149 in 1972 and 116 in 1973. According to another survey (TANKO and TASSI 1978), 5.1 head were killed per 10,000 ha in Vas County between 1969 and 1973. Based on these data and on more recent surveys, it can be said that the population of the species is stable in Western Hungary (NECHAY 1980; NECHAY et al. 1990; KEMENES 1991). ÁRPÁD SZEDERJEI (1963), in a dissertation for the degree of candidacy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, classified the stock of red deer (Cervus elaphus) according to types of antler and made proposals on ways of developing trophies. Among the earliest data on mammals in the Őrség is a description in GYÖRGY NEMESNÉPI ZAKÁL (1818): 'Of the Eörségh [sic] game, first place is due to roe deer, but these can be found only on the Szalafő borders... Red deer have also been introduced into the Eörségh on several occasions... There are still enough hare... The most harmful of the predatory game are the wolves, which often go in packs. Regular hunts are