Ulf Hohmann (born 9 July 1963, in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

) is a German ethologist, whose studies about the

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

have played a significant role in the understanding of its

social behavior Social behavior is behavior among two or more organisms within the same species, it encompasses any behavior in which one member affects another. Social behavior can be seen as similar to an exchange of goods, with the expectation that when you ...

and its distribution in Germany.

Biography

Studying at the universities

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

and

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

, Ulf Hohmann completed his

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

in 1992. After the submission of his dissertation to Antal Festetics at the forestal faculty of the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in 1998, he was the chairperson of the ''Gesellschaft für Wildökologie und Naturschutz e.V.'' (''Society for wildlife ecology and conservation e.V.''). In this role, he appeared in the media as expert for the increasing urbanisation of animals. At the moment (July 2008), he works for the ''Forschungsanstalt für Waldökologie und Forstwirtschaft Rheinland-Pfalz'' (''Research institute for forest ecology and forestry Rhineland-Palatinate'') located in Trippstadt.

Research

Within the scope of his dissertation, Ulf Hohmann and several scientific assistants carried out the first systematic study of the German raccoon population from 1992 to 1998. The telemetric measurement of the movement patterns of the raccoons living in the

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

low mountain range Solling yielded the result that the social behavior of raccoons is gender-specific and that they often live together in small, loose groups instead of being

loner A loner is a person described as not seeking out, actively avoiding, or failing to maintain interpersonal relationships. There are many potential causes for this solitude. Intentional causes include introversion, mysticism, spirituality, reli ...

s like previously thought. Stanley D. Gehrt arrived at the same conclusion in his study done in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in 1994 one year after Hohmann's initial query to Gehrt's doctoral adviser and raccoon expert Erik Fritzell about his discoveries. (→ Social behavior of raccoons) The study was supplemented with the observation of the behavior of several raised and subsequently released raccoon kits. This work, started by the graduand Franziska Kalz in 1995, was accompanied by the wildlife photographer Ingo Bartussek since spring 1996. Beginning in 1999, after the submission of his dissertation, Ulf Hohmann carried out the first study of urban raccoons outside of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in the Hessian small town

Bad Karlshafen Bad Karlshafen () is a baroque, thermal salt spa town in the Kassel (district), district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It has 2300 inhabitants in the main ward of Bad Karlshafen, and a further 1900 in the medieval village of Helmarshausen. It is s ...

. In 2001, Ulf Hohmann published the

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

''Der Waschbär'' (''The raccoon''), giving a thorough overview of appearance and behavior of the species and the results of his studies in it. Besides numerous photos of Ingo Bartussek, the book also contains a chapter about raising raccoon kits written by the

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

Bernhard Böer. Working now for the ''Forschungsanstalt für Waldökologie und Forstwirtschaft Rheinland-Pfalz'', Ulf Hohmann has recently concentrated on the research of

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s, mainly of those living in the

Palatinate Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...

. His research on raccoons has been continued by Frank-Uwe Michler, who first worked together with Hohmann for his diploma in a study of urban raccoons in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

from 2001 to 2002. Since March 2006, Frank-Uwe Michler is the leader of the first study of the range and behavior of the raccoons living in the eastern parts of Germany in the Müritz National Park.

References

Publications

* * (Dissertation in German with a summary in English at the University of Göttingen; translation of the title: ''A Study of Raccoon (''Procyon lotor'') Space Utilization in Southern Lower Saxony, Germany, with Respect to Social Behaviour'') * (Diploma thesis in German at the University of Kiel; translation of the title: ''A Study on Habitat Use with Respect to Spatial and Temporal Patterns by the Common Buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') in the Eider-Treene-Sorge-Lowlands'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Hohmann, Ulf 1963 births Ethologists 21st-century German zoologists Living people 20th-century German zoologists Scientists from Stuttgart University of Tübingen alumni University of Kiel alumni University of Göttingen alumni German mammalogists