Considering the SECR Book, or perhaps ipsecr simulation, which chapter(s) would we be fruitfully reading? It is unclear if this is capture/recapture of tagged contestants or merely capture within a given season from the description above. None caught in a given area/season but can be modelled sounds like adjusting a line of code for a given parameter within that area/season. Rats are always present in the sugar cane fields suggests a floor with captures perhaps indicating better and worse areas to raise one's family.