Some of you may recall that I have been posting some WAY overdue trip reports on my blog as well. I am still far behind, but I thought it best to get going again…my last report was a series of posts on a trip with my wife to the Kruger National Park in 2009. Let’s […]
Tag: Leopard
Monkeys use field scientists as human shields against predators
If you’re monkey—say a samango monkey in South Africa—probably the last thing you want is to be torn apart and eaten by a leopard or a caracal. In fact, you probably spend a lot of time and energy working to avoid such a grisly fate. Well, now there’s a simpler way: just stick close to […]
Tree-huggers: koalas cuddle up to keep cool
Animals that live in hot climates have various behavioral adaptations to help keep them cool. Kangaroos lick their wrists; rats lick their testicles. New-world vultures urinate on themselves. Humans and horses sweat. These behaviors all take advantage of the ability of evaporation to lower temperature by transferring heat energy from an animal’s body to the […]
View of a Leopard
I’ve minced no bones about leopards being a nemesis species for me. They are elusive to begin with, but it does seem that when I am in the area, they get a special memo to avoid being seen. This was one such an occasion – I was visiting my friend+Marlon du Toitwhen he was still […]
Join the 1st World Giraffe Day and help save these gentle giants
Giraffe population has declined by 40% over the last 15 years. Less than 80.000 exist in the wild today. In Africa, for every giraffe there are 5 elephants. Habitat loss, disease and poaching are decimating these gentle giants at a worrying pace. Urgent action is necessary to protect these extraordinary animals. You can act now! […]
Snow Leopard hunt by Adam Riley (INDRI Ultimate Wildlife Tours)
It was our third day in high elevation Hemis National Park, we had awakened before dawn and chugged down a mug of life-giving coffee before ascending a few hundred yards to a knoll above our tented camp in the Rhumbak Valley. At this very spot, on our first afternoon in the park, and within half […]
Over 75 percent of large predators declining
The world’s top carnivores are in big trouble: this is the take-away message from a new review paper published today in Science. Looking at 31 large-bodied carnivore species (i.e those over 15 kilograms or 33 pounds), the researchers found that 77 percent are in decline and more than half have seen their historical ranges decline […]
For agoutis, the night is fraught with peril
The early bird might get the worm, but, as scientists have discovered, the bird is also quite likely to become a cat’s meal. In a study recently published in the online Animal Behavior journal, scientists from the US and the Netherlands have examined the impact of predation patterns on prey’s food foraging habits. The two-year […]