Megan Claase Neil R Jordan, UNSW Sydney; Dominik M Behr, University of Zurich; Krystyna Golabek; Laura Plimpton, Columbia University, and Megan Jane Claase, Stellenbosch University Whether it’s a fancy dinner party or a routine family lunch, meals can be highly social affairs. And patterns of food sharing – or otherwise – can shape or describe … Continue reading African wild dogs have a feeding queue: why it makes sense
Lions are less likely to attack cattle with eyes painted on their backsides
“Eye cows” Bobby-Jo Photography Neil R Jordan, UNSW; Cameron Radford, UNSW, and Tracey Rogers, UNSW The predation of livestock by carnivores, and the retaliatory killing of carnivores as a result, is a major global conservation challenge. Such human-wildlife conflicts are a key driver of large carnivore declines and the costs of coexistence are often disproportionately … Continue reading Lions are less likely to attack cattle with eyes painted on their backsides
Dog owners could take the lead on dingo conservation with a ‘Fido fund’
Dingo puppers. A small levy on dog costs could help create more ethical management of dingoes. Shutterstock Neil R Jordan, UNSW and Rob Appleby, Griffith University Humans and dogs go way back. From wolf totems to the big bad wolf of fact and fairy tale, through sheepdogs, lap dogs, and labradoodles, our relationships with these … Continue reading Dog owners could take the lead on dingo conservation with a ‘Fido fund’
Where the wild dogs are
One of the challenges we have in monitoring a population of endangered African wild dogs is the huge home ranges they cover. An average pack ranges over more than 750km2 in our area, where roads are few and far between. This can result in our searching for a pack for weeks or even months before … Continue reading Where the wild dogs are
Preying solitaire
“Kubu” is a lone African wild dog. On first thought, such a strange state of affairs clearly exonerates her - and any research data collected on her – from contributing usefully to our understanding of wild dog social behaviour. But on reflection, second thoughts are sometimes more insightful than their impetuous predecessors. While Kubu’s story … Continue reading Preying solitaire
Human-wildlife conflict is draining Africa of it’s lions
This is short video I put together explaining the impact that predator-livestock conflict is having on predator populations, even those within protected areas. Admittedly it casts a bleak outlook, but to conserve lions and rural livelihoods in Africa, we desperately need investment in developing practical and innovative conflict-prevention tools. If you want to learn more about my … Continue reading Human-wildlife conflict is draining Africa of it’s lions
The hunt debunked?
Our new research shows that African wild dogs don’t hunt collaboratively or chase prey over long distances. Pack-living African wild dogs are known as super-successful hunters, supposedly collaborating in coordinated attempts to run down their prey in long-distance chases. Such hunts have been dramatized in numerous wildlife documentaries, including Sir David Attenborough’s sensational series “The … Continue reading The hunt debunked?
i-cows! Could saving lions be this simple?
Eye patterns painted on the hides of cattle is a rare sight in more ways than one: it's a low cost, locally implementable potential solution to human-wildlife conflict. Although trophy hunting of African lions and leopards has been banned in Botswana for many years, still the killing of lions continues. Lions kill livestock and, in … Continue reading i-cows! Could saving lions be this simple?
Carnivore research and coexistence 