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Mammal Species Richness at a Catena and Nearby Waterholes during a Drought, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Catenas are undulating hillslopes on a granite geology characterised by different soil types that create an environmental gradient from crest to bottom. The main aim was to determine mammal species (>mongoose) present on one catenal slope and its waterholes and group them by feeding guild and body size. Species richness was highest at waterholes (21 species), followed by midslope (19) and sodic patch (16) on the catena. Small differences observed in species presence between zones and waterholes and between survey

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Trends in populations of elephant and other large herbivores in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe, as revealed by sample aerial surveys

For 30 years, regular aerial surveys in Zimbabwean protected areas were funded, designed and executed primarily to estimate elephant numbers. Other large herbivores were recorded, even though some species were not easily seen from the air in savannah woodlands. Population estimates for species other than elephant provided indices of abundance that could be used to determine temporal trends in population size. This study tests for significant trends in the abundance of large herbivores in Gonarezhou National Park, assuming that data

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Influence of drought on predation of elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves by lions (Panthera leo) in an African wooded savannah

Data were collected on species killed by lions Panthera leo in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe between 1998 and 2004. Lions killed predominantly large to medium-sized herbivores, concentrating on buffalo Syncerus caffer, elephant Loxodonta africana, giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and zebra Equus burchelli. These species made up 83% of all lion kills found and 94% of the biomass of kills actually observed. Elephant calves made up an unusually large proportion of lion prey during the study period (23% of

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The demography of giraffe deaths in a drought

Darwin’s theory for the evolution of the long neck of giraffes is that height confers access to browse free of competition from smaller browsers. The theory predicts that survivors of a drought will be the tallest animals in a population. All studies so far have tested this hypothesis by analysis of feeding patterns and behaviour. We have studied it by analysing the demography of deaths in a drought. Using skeletal material from 26 giraffes that died as a result of

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The opportunistic Sarcoptes scabiei: A new episode from giraffe in the drought-suffering Kenya

The ubiquitous Sarcoptes mite is unexplainable emerging and re-emerging parasite, threatening biodiversity and human health. When a new outbreak occurs, it is not clear if it is a genuine emergence resulting from a new incidence or apparent emergence resulting from increased detection. In this paper we report, for the first time to our knowledge, an outbreak of sarcoptic mange in giraffes in the wild. Three decaying carcasses and five free-ranging subadult reticulated giraffes were observed to have mange-like lesions in

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