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ABSTRACT. Twenty females from the Rivikre George caribou herd were captured in April 1987 in northern Quebec and were held in a zoo in Quebec City. Until November 1989, they were kept in an enclosure with a male from the same herd and they were fed ad libitum with pelleted concentrates and hay, supplemented with fresh deciduous leaves in summer. Daily food consumption exhibited an annual cycle, peaking at over 100 g-kg-0.75 in summer and decreasing to CU. 70 g-kg-0.75 by late winter. Food consumption decreased at the end of the last summer, due perhaps to lower hay quality. Mean body mass of adult females increased from 90 kg upon arrival at the zoo to = 115 kg in the autumn of 1987, = 125 kg in September 1988, and then decreased to 113 kg in November 1989. Pregnancy rate increased from 65% in 1987 to 82% in 1989 for animals captured in the wild. Two females born in captivity in 1987 became pregnant as yearlings, while 1 of 3 yearling females ovulated in 1989. Mass of calves at birth was higher in 1988 and 1989 than in 1987, while the calving period advanced by two weeks in the last two years. Growth of calves in summer was unrelated to birth mass and was higher in 1987 and 1988 (450-490 g-d-1) than in 1989 (365 g-d-1). Male calves grew at a faster rate than females. Carcass composition, in terms of lipids, protein and water, did not differ much between calves and yearlings born in captivity and free-ranging animals collected in 1983-84. However, the mass of each component was much lower in free-ranging lactating females than in captive ones. All captive females that had ovulated before necropsy, including one yearling, had at least 7.2 kg of stored fat.

A chromosome analysis of 24 Canadian beavers, Castor canadensis Kuhl (12 males and 12 females), captured in Laurentides Park, Qébec, has been performed from preparations of blood lymphocyte and skin cultures. The chromosome number was found to be 2n = 40. Measurements were made to determine relative lengths and arm ratios of chromosomes, which are metacentric or submetacentric. Results are in agreement with those already published regarding the chromosome number, but differ in the identification of the X chromosome, and in the morphology of the Y and some autosomes. C- ad G-banding techniques allowed the precise identification of individual chromosome pairs. A detailed idiogram of G-bands is presented.

A series of measurements (lengths, circumferences, skinfolds, masses and resistance) was taken on 29 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) of both sexes before and after their death during the autumns of 1994 and 1995. Body composition of each carcass was determined by chemical analysis of homogenized samples of viscera, carcass and skin. Eight multiple regression models were then developed to predict body water, fat, protein, and mineral mass using body measurements as independent variables taken on live or dead animals. All final models were highly significant (P Ͻ 0.0001) and included three or four explanatory variables. Adjusted coefficients of determination varied between 0.95 for water mass and 0.81 for mineral mass. The models cover a wide range of conditions as percent body fat in the 29 samples varied between 1.1 and 28.4%. Our models can serve for management or research purposes with live or dead red foxes as they are quick, inexpensive and nondestructive.