Host preference of the Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus in the Rhodes Matopos National Park, Rhodesia
Records were kept from May 1977 to April 1978 of Yellow-billed Oxpeckers Buphagus africanus and ungulates seen in the Whovi Wild Area of the Rhodes Matopos National Park. Host preference was determined by recording when oxpeckers were not in attendance. A distinct selection was shown for certain ungulate species, the order of preference being buffalo, […]
Tick problems in wildlife in Zimbabwe. 1. The effects of tick parasitism on wild ungulates
The direct and indirect effects of tick parasitism on wild ungulates are outlined. Observations on the relative susceptibility of common ungulate species to tick infestation are recorded. Host resistance to tick infestation and its possible application as a management tool in heavily tick infested wildlife areas is discussed.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in farm-reared ostriches and wild game species from Zimbabwe
One hundred and seventy one serum samples from 10 game species from Zimbabwe were tested for IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii infection using the modified agglutination test (MAT). Significantly higher seroprevalences were found in the felidae (Panthera leo) (92% of 26), bovidae (Tragelaphus species) (55.9% of 34) and farm-reared struthionidae (Struthio camelus) (48% of 50) […]
Interspecific interference competition at the resource patch scale: do large herbivores spatially avoid elephants while accessing water?
1. Animals may anticipate and try to avoid, at some costs, physical encounters with other competitors. This may ultimately impact their foraging distribution and intake rates. Such cryptic interference competition is difficult to measure in the field, and extremely little is known at the interspecific level. 2. We tested the hypothesis that smaller species avoid […]
A neotaphonomic view of prey demographics and predator preferences at Ngamo Pan, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Waterholes in African savanna ecosystems are often locations of carnivore serial predation. At Ngamo Pan, located in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, predators take advantage of natural and artificial waterholes to ambush prey, resulting in the a vast accumulation of large mammal bones across the local landscape. Lions are presumed responsible for many predation occurrences surrounding […]
An Assessment of Forage Selection by Giraffe Introduced into Umfurudzi Park, Northern Zimbabwe
Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is one of the flagship herbivore species in the savanna ecosystem and is of high conservation value. Management of the species under diversified ecosystems, particularly, their introduction in new ecosystems is of great concern, given that limited information is available of how the species acclimatizes to new ecosystems and which forage species […]
Distribution and density of oxpeckers on giraffes in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Oxpeckers (Buphagus sp.) are two bird species closely associated to large mammals, including giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis). We tested whether oxpeckers distributed themselves at random across individuals or aggregated on individual giraffes, and whether birds select the host’s body parts with the expected greatest amount of ticks. By counting oxpeckers on giraffe’s body from photographs, we […]
Revisiting giraffe photo-identification using deep learning and network analysis
An increasing number of research programs rely on photographic capture-recapture (vs. direct marking) of individuals to study distribution and demography within animal populations. Photo-identification of individuals living in the wild is sometimes feasible using idiosyncratic coat or skin patterns, like for giraffes. When performed manually, the task is tedious and becomes almost impossible as populations […]
Body surface area and thermoregulation in giraffes
One of several hypotheses for the evolution of the shape of giraffes is that it evolved to maximize heat loss via a high surface area to mass ratio. We calculated the surface area (SA) of the head, neck, trunk and upper legs, and the lower legs in 60 giraffes of both sexes and a body […]
Association between reproductive behaviour and androgen metabolite excretion in free-ranging male giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)
Little is known on the giraffe’s reproductive behaviour, particularly observations of male sexual behaviour are scarce. Most information results from studies on captive animals, and observations of free-ranging giraffes were mainly focused on social structure within herds and only yield limited data on the bulls‘ tendency of roaming between cows’ herds. In addition, no data […]