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Comparative cognition in three understudied ungulate species: European bison, forest buffalos and giraffes

Background: Comparative cognition has historically focused on a few taxa such as primates, birds or rodents. However, a broader perspective is essential to understand how different selective pressures affect cognition in different taxa, as more recently shown in several studies. Here we present the same battery of cognitive tasks to two understudied ungulate species with different socio-ecological characteristics, European bison (Bison bonasus) and forest buffalos (Syncerus caffer nanus), and we compare their performance to previous findings in giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis).

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Giraffe bed and breakfast: Camera traps reveal Tanzanian yellow-billed oxpeckers roosting on their large mammalian hosts

Oxpeckers are obligate mammal gleaners, feeding on ectoparasites and dead skin of large herbivores (Bezuidenhout & Stutterheim, 1980; Dean & MacDonald, 1981). There are two sympatric species in sub-Saharan Africa: the red-billed (Buphagus erythrorhynus) and yellow-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus africana). The red-billed species is smaller, with a scissor-like bill, while the yellow-billed species is larger, behaviourally dominant, and has a broad, flat beak (Attwell, 1966; Neweklowsky, 1974; Stutterheim, Bezuidenhout, & Elliott, 1988). These behavioural and morphological attributes are hypothesized to contribute

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Does the risk of encountering lions influence African herbivore behaviour at waterholes?

A central question in the study of predator–prey relationships is to what extent prey behaviour is determined by avoidance of predators. Here, we test whether the long-term risk of encountering lions and the presence of lions in the vicinity influence the behaviour of large African herbivores at waterholes through avoidance of high-risk areas, increases in group size, changes in temporal niche or changes in the time spent in waterhole areas. In Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, we monitored waterholes to study

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Prey preferences of the lion (Panthera leo)

Lions Panthera leo are generally thought to prey on medium to large ungulates. Knowledge of which species are actually preferred and which are avoided is lacking, however, as is an understanding of why such preference or avoidance may arise. An analysis of 32 studies over 48 different spatial locations or temporal periods throughout the distribution of the lion shows that it preferentially preys upon species within a weight range of 190–550 kg. The most preferred weight of lion prey is

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Population statistics and carrying capacity of large ungulates in Whovi Wild Area, Rhodes Matopos National Park, Zimbabwe Rhodesia

Population data for introduced large ungulates, are presented to demonstrate population growth in terms of numbers and biomass in the Whovi Wild Area of the Rhodes Matopos National Park, Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Peak calving in relation to food requirements of different species is discussed. Standing crop of large ungulates was calculated and compared with carrying capacity as predicted by Coe et al. (1976)

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