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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 larger ones because of potential costs of interference competition and hence expected them to segregate from larger competitors at the scale of a resource patch.

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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 waterhole locations in Hwange National Park, but attributing prey deaths to a specific predator at Ngamo Pan can only be hypothesized, as most kills occur

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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 was available on endocrine mechanisms which modulate male reproductive behaviour. Male endocrinology in terms of androgens has only been studied on culled animals, hence no

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The role of water abundance, thermoregulation, perceived predation risk and interference competition in water access by African herbivores

In African savannas, surface water can become limiting and an understanding of how animals address the trade-offs between different constraints to access this resource is needed. Here, we describe water access by ten African herbivore species in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, and we explore four possible determinants of the observed behaviours: water abundance, thermoregulation, perceived predation risk and interference competition. On average, herbivores were observed to drink in 80% of visits to a waterhole. The probability of drinking was higher

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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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Elephant-induced structural changes in the vegetation and habitat selection by large herbivores in an African savanna

African elephants can affect the quality of the habitat of other species by breaking or uprooting trees and shrubs in savannas. Their effect on vegetation has been widely studied but less is known about the effects of such vegetation changes on other animals. We studied how changes in the vegetation caused by elephants influence the selection of microhabitats by five African herbivore species (giraffe, kudu, steenbok, impala, and zebra) in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. There was no clear significant effect

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Grazing behaviour of the giraffe in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is usually described as an exclusive browser, feeding only on shrubs and trees, preferably between 2 and 5 m above ground (Lamprey, 1963; McNaughton & Georgiadis, 1986; Ciofolo & Le Pendu, 2002). Although browsing seems to be an easier form of feeding for giraffes in terms of accessibility and vigilance (Young & Isbell, 1991), a few studies mention that the giraffe also ‘very occasionally’ feeds on grass (Pienaar, 1963; Du Toit, 2005). To be able to

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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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Seasonal Diet and Prey Preference of the African Lion in a Waterhole-Driven Semi-Arid Savanna

Large carnivores inhabiting ecosystems with heterogeneously distributed environmental resources with strong seasonal variations frequently employ opportunistic foraging strategies, often typified by seasonal switches in diet. In semi-arid ecosystems, herbivore distribution is generally more homogeneous in the wet season, when surface water is abundant, than in the dry season when only permanent sources remain. Here, we investigate the seasonal contribution of the different herbivore species, prey preference and distribution of kills (i.e. feeding locations) of African lions in Hwange National Park,

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Seasonal density estimates of common large herbivores in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

The monitoring of ecosystem processes and states is a critical step in the management of protected areas. It allows for the assessment of the success or failure of practices ranging from ‘laissez-faire’ to strong hands-on policies. Much effort is for instance devoted to the monitoring of wildlife abundance, particularly when associated with large ecological influence or socio-economical values. In Africa, the diversity of large herbivores represents both a major asset of protected areas and a global conservation target as a

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