Chupacabra A Shunka Warakin

A what? Well thanks to BigCityLiberal perhaps we have a solution to what the Chupacabra is. Perhaps this cryptozoological phenomena is just another name for a different cryptozoological creature. Perhaps they are one and the same. Since they are both cryptids. Perhaps the Chupacabra is a Shunka Warakin.

In the Great Plains of the American West, from at least Montana to Nebraska, there have been reports of an animal that seems to be a hyena. With a sloping back and hyena-like features, this beast was known to the Ioway Indians as the shunka warak'in. Similar creatures, with different names, were reported from the lands of other tribes. This animal was generally described as having dark fur, often black and sometimes red. The shaggy areas were distributed in a different way than on wolves. White settlers also thought they had seen this creature, and some were even mounted as trophies. Although the present wherabouts of these trophies is now unknown, one famous trophy had a picture taken of it, although it might have been a strange-looking wolf mounted by an incompetent taxidermist. Only DNA testing could settle the question.

After all the later is a supposed extinct North American Wolf Hyena hybrid as this picture shows of one shot and preserved in the 19th Century.

Shunka Warak'in

In the late 19th century, the Hutchins family moved into an area of Montana along the Madison River's West Fork, in Broadwater County. They were soon to report encounters with a mysterious canine beast known to Native Americans.

One of the descendants of the original clan was zoologist Ross Hutchins. In 1977, he would write Trails to Nature's Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist. Within this book is reference to one of the most obscure creatures to grace North America's cryptozoological landscape. The following account is reproduced from that book.

One winter morning my grandfather was aroused by the barking of the dogs. He discovered that a wolflike beast of dark color was chasing my grandmother's geese. He fired his gun at the animal but missed. It ran off down the river, but several mornings later it was seen again at about dawn. It was seen several more times at the home ranch as well as at other ranches ten or fifteen miles down the valley. Whatever it was, it was a great traveler...

Those who got a good look at the beast described it as being nearly black and having high shoulders and a back that sloped downward like a hyena. Then one morning in late January, my grandfather was alerted by the dogs, and this time he was able to kill it. Just what the animal was is still an open question. After being killed, it was donated to a man named Sherwood who kept a combination grocery and museum at Henry Lake in Idaho. It was mounted and displayed there for many years. He called it ringdocus.

An Ioway Indian named Lance Foster approached Loren Coleman in 1995 and informed him of traditions existing in that tribe of an animal called a shunka warak'in ('Carrying-Off-Dogs') which cried like a human when killed. Foster's descriptions of an animal that looked something like a hyena and the existence of one in an Idaho museum are testimony that the animal killed at the Hutchins ranch was a Shunka Warak'in.

Coleman speculates that the creature may have represented a survival of a prehistoric species known as Borophagus, although my own researches into the animal makes it seem even more likely that it may belong to another prehistoric species, a creodont known as Hyaenodon montanus. H. montanus was a rather lightly built member of the Neohyaenodon subspecies

And these pictures shows the alleged Chupacabra caught in Texas this summer.

Eric Gay / AP

Phylis Canion holds the head of what she is calling a Chupacabra at her home in Cuero, Texas, Friday, Aug. 31, 2007

Creature ID'd As Coyote, Not Chupacabra

updated 8:32 a.m. MT, Fri., Nov. 2, 2007
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The results are in: The ugly, big-eared animal found this summer in southern Texas is not the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra. It's just a plain old coyote.

Biologists at Texas State University announced Thursday night they had identified the hairless doglike creature.

Oh well.....there are lots more Chupacabra still out there.

But the Shunka Warakin is extinct. Or perhaps not....

Wolf,dog,Shunka Warakin?

Posted by Mark on February 24, 2007, 11:04 am

Did anyone ever here of the dna results on that wolf creature they shot from a helicopter in Nov 2006 in Montana,that killed 120 sheep? It was 106 lbs,& orangeish color.In the 1800's a settler in Montana shot & mounted what they called Ringdocus,the Indians called it Shunka Warakin ("carrying off dogs").I have a picture of the mount in a book I have.Anyway both storys r neat but I never read a follow up story on the dna results.Some said it could've been a wolf from the great lakes region but I never saw an orange wolf out here.Mabey a Wolf-dog X. Who knows?

Your True Tales
August 2007 - Page 6

Shunka Warakin
by James

I was eight in 1992 and went camping with my friends in his backyard. We made camp and lit a fire. We were in the tents when a shadow was cast on the side. We thought it was a dog at first and I went outside to chase it off. But it was not a dog. The most I remember is its eyes, they were red. The fur was black and reminded me of a hog. It smelled awful. Its front legs were longer than the back legs. It just stared at me and then it just walked back into the woods.

I talked to an Native friend of mine and he heard of it. My wife brought home a book called Weird Georgia and it had a picture and an article about it. The picture made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The book called it a "wog". We Googled "wog" but didn't get much, but then we found a picture of "shunka warakin" and the hair stood up again. I live in southern Georgia and actively deer hunt, but have never seen another creature like this - and hope never too.

Cue eerie music....


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Ice Age woolly mammoth and rhino remains found in Devon cave

Andy Wells
·Freelance Writer
Thu., February 3, 2022

A mammoth tusk is boxed up and sent away to be analysed. (SWNS)

An “exceptional” discovery of the remains of several huge extinct beasts has been described as a “brilliant insight” into life in Ice Age Britain thousands of years ago.

The finds at Sherford, a new town being built in Devon, include a woolly mammoth, rhino and wolf and are estimated to be from the last Ice Age, around 30,000-60,000 years ago in the Middle Devensian period.

They have been described as "rare and nationally significant" and have been painstakingly recovered by a specialist and highly skilled team from across the UK for analysis.

The detailed samples taken from the site have so far uncovered partial remains of a woolly mammoth, including a tusk, molar tooth and other bones and partial remains of a woolly rhinoceros, including an incomplete skull and lower jaw.

There is also a virtually complete wolf skeleton and partial remains of hyena, horse, reindeer, mountain hare and red fox.

An ancient wolf skull was among the finds at the site in Devon. (SWNS)

Woolly rhinoceros remains were found at the site. (SWNS)

Bones of various small mammals such as bats and shrews are also present and it is anticipated that further bones of small mammals will be identified during post-excavation laboratory analysis.

The ‘megafauna’ – large animals now extinct – are hoped to provide new insights into early Britain and enrich what is already known.

Understanding the range of mammals present, particularly herbivores and their food sources, also provides an insight into the plants that may have existed in the local environment, for which little evidence survives today.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "This discovery is exceptional.

The molar of a mammoth is just one of the incredible finds at the site. (SWNS)

Partial remains of a woolly rhinoceros, including an incomplete skull and lower jaw, were discovered. (SWNS)

"To have found partial remains of such a range of species here in Devon gives us a brilliant insight into the animals which roamed around Ice Age Britain thousands of years ago, as well as a better understanding of the environment and climate at the time.

"We are delighted that this important part of our history will be preserved for future generations."

The town of Sherford is is a new 5,500-home community still under development on the edge of Plymouth, and is already home to over 1,500 people.

It was excavation during infrastructure work on site that led to the discovery of the remains.

Samples taken from the site have so far uncovered partial remains of a woolly mammoth, including a tusk, molar tooth and other bones. (Getty/stock picture)

Archaeologists recover ancient woolly rhinoceros remains. (SWNS)

The area where the remains were found will be preserved and no construction will take place on top of it.

Rob Bourn, managing director of Orion Heritage and lead archaeologist on the project for the Sherford Consortium, added: “This is a major discovery of national significance – a once in a lifetime experience for those involved.

"Construction happening at Sherford is the sole reason these findings have been discovered and it is remarkable that they have laid undisturbed until now.

"To find such an array of artefacts untouched for so long is a rare and special occurrence. Equally rare is the presence of complete or semi-complete individual animals.

Parts of a woolly rhinoceros were discovered, including an incomplete skull and lower jaw. (Getty/stock photo)

An archaeologist team member in Devon recording deposits by the wolf skull. (SWNS)

"We look forward to reaching the stage where the discoveries can be shared and displayed, so that everyone can find out more about our distant past.”

Mr Bourn said working theories of how they ended up there included some of the creatures falling into a pit and unable to escape while carnivorous scavengers followed and met a similar fate – or the animals died elsewhere and the bones washed there over a period of time.

It is expected that the full archive of remains will return to Devon, into the care of The Box – a new museum in Plymouth.

Watch: Mammoth tusk holds clues to Ice Age extinctions

Remains of woolly mammoth found on Devon building site

Bones of ice age mammoth, bison, rhinoceros, wolf and hyena uncovered by digger on outskirts of Plymouth

A section of mammoth tusk in the cave system uncovered during the construction of a new town.

Steven Morris
THE GUARDIAN
Thu 3 Feb 2022

The remains of a woolly mammoth, rhinoceros, bison, wolf and hyena have been found in a cave system uncovered by a digger during the building of a new town in the south-west of England.

Experts said the find at Sherford, a 5,500-home development on the outskirts of Plymouth, was “exceptional” and gave an astonishing glimpse into the megafauna that roamed what is now Devon between 30,000 and 60,000 years ago.

More than 200 clusters of bones have been carefully removed from the cave and they will be examined to try to help paint a picture of what life was like in ice age Britain.

The samples taken from the site have so far uncovered:

Partial remains of a woolly mammoth, including a tusk, molar tooth and other bones

Partial remains of a woolly rhinoceros, including an incomplete skull and lower jaw

A virtually complete wolf skeleton

Partial remains of hyena, horse, reindeer, mountain hare and red fox

Bones of various small mammals such as bats and shrews. It is anticipated that further bones of small mammals will be identified during post-excavation laboratory analysis.

Woolly mammoth molar.


Whether all of the creatures uncovered at Sherford coexisted or lived at different points over a much longer time span is uncertain. One theory is that some of the creatures fell into a pit and were unable to escape, and carnivorous scavengers followed and met a similar fate – or the animals died elsewhere and the bones washed into the area over a period of time.

Understanding the range of mammals present, particularly herbivores, will also provide an insight into the plants that may have existed at the time.


Huge ‘sea dragon’ named one of UK’s greatest fossil finds

Danielle Schreve, professor of quaternary science at Royal Holloway University of London, was one of those who crawled into the cave to help supervise the recovery work. “It’s really extraordinary to go into a cave and find remains of things like woolly mammoth tusks,” she said. “It’s pretty special.”

Schreve said it was probably the most significant find of its kind since the discovery of the Joint Mitnor cave in Devon more than 80 years ago.

The animal bones and environmental samples have been recorded and removed from the ground and are undergoing academic analysis and conservation.

It is expected that the full archive of remains will return to Devon, into the care of The Box, Plymouth’s revamped museum. Developers have said the area where the remains were found would be conserved and nothing would be built on top, but the entrance to the cave will be sealed.

Woolly rhinoceros mandible with teeth attached.

Rob Bourn, the managing director of Orion Heritage and lead archaeologist on the project for the Sherford Consortium, said: “This is a major discovery of national significance, a once in a lifetime experience for those involved. To find such an array of artefacts untouched for so long is a rare and special occurrence.”

Bourn said the south-west of England was very different in the time of the mammoth. “It was an area where mammoths and other creatures thrived, roaming great distances across a landscape that looked very different to today, with glaciers not far away in south Wales and a volatile climate prone to huge floods.”

Duncan Wilson, the chief executive of Historic England, said: “This discovery is exceptional. To have found partial remains of such a range of species here in Devon gives us a brilliant insight into the animals which roamed around ice age Britain thousands of years ago, as well as a better understanding of the environment and climate at the time.”

New discovery of ice age fossils in Devon

by Royal Holloway, University of London

A fossil woolly rhino jaw and teeth, immediately after it was excavated. 

Credit: Professor Danielle Schreve

Fossils of extinct species, including mammoth, rhinoceros and wolf, have been discovered in a Devon cave by a team of archaeologists, including an academic from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Excavations at Sherford, a new town in Plymouth, uncovered the approximate 30-60,000-year-old fossils, belonging to wooly mammoths, wooly rhinoceros, hyena, horse, reindeer, mountain hare and red fox, giving an incredibly rare insight into Britain during the last ice age.

Speaking about the discovery, Professor Danielle Schreve, Head of the Department of Geography and a member of the Centre for Quaternary Research at Royal Holloway, said: "To find a previously unknown cave system is a really special discovery. The fossil bones and teeth not only allow us to reconstruct what conditions were like in the past—a cool, open grassland patrolled by huge herds of grazing animals and across which Neanderthals and then modern humans hunted—but knowledge of how species responded to rapid climate change by shifting their range, evolving or going extinct can help us make better conservation decisions today."

Over recent months, the archaeological team has conducted a detailed analysis of the findings. The work has been led by an expert team including academics from Winchester University and the University of Manchester, Orion Heritage and Exeter-based AC Archaeology, supported by Devon County Council and the South West Science Advisor from Historic England.

Whether all of the fossils uncovered are from a similar time period or existed at different points over a longer time span is under investigation. The remains of megafauna—which are large animals of a geological period that are extinct—as well as a complete skeleton of a wolf, suggest that they probably met an accidental death, falling in through an opening to the ground surface and unable to escape.

It is expected that the full archive of remains will return to Devon, into the care of The Box museum in Plymouth, just a few miles from where they were discovered.

Sherford is a new 5,500-home community under development in Plymouth. The Sherford Consortium—a partnership of Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Partnerships—instigated archaeological work at the start of construction in 2015 and have remained committed to funding an ongoing program of archaeological investigation ever since. Excavation during infrastructure work led to the discovery of these fossils, in an area near Sherford Quarry.New discovery of the earliest known hippo fossil in the UK

Provided by Royal Holloway, University of London 

Jawbone found in China linked to unknown tiger lineage that never evolved

AUGUST 14, 2022

By KEVIN MCSPADDEN

Twitter/TheChinatiger01

A team of scientists in China used DNA analysis of a fossil found in northeast China to identify what they believe is a lineage of tigers that diverged from today’s modern felines approximately 268,000 years ago.

The proposed evolutionary split would have happened far earlier than the previously known divergence around 125,000 years ago when what would become South China tigers (Panthera tigris amoyensis ) split from what eventually became the five other living species of tigers.More from AsiaOneRead the condensed version of this story, and other top stories with NewsLite.

The scientists believe the newly discovered lineage of tigers evolved independently from modern tigers before eventually going extinct at an unknown date, according to a paper published in late July in Royal Society, a peer-reviewed journal.

Sheng Guilian, a study author and professor at China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) Future City Campus, told the South China Morning Post that the team was able to build an evolutionary tree using DNA and molecular analysis that allowed them to identify when different tiger species diverged.

The researchers analysed DNA samples of 40 modern tigers spread across the six living species, as well as one lion and one snow leopard.

“The tree shows that this new tiger is in another branch of the tree and formed a sister clade to all modern tigers,” Sheng said.

The researchers wrote in the paper that their findings support the idea that there may be more now-extinct tiger lineages that humans have yet to discover.

The new tiger was identified by analysing a lower jawbone found in a karst cave in Jilin province, northeastern China, and the researchers nicknamed the cat “Da’an tiger” after the cave’s name.

The area is consistent with historical ranges of tigers and is where Amur tigers (more famously called Siberian tigers) still live. The researchers hypothesised that the location of the fossil might mean the ancient tiger had specific genes enabling it to adapt to cold environments, also reported in Amur tigers.

Sheng said the scientists pinpointed that the extinct tiger evolved from modern tigers 268,000 years ago by using a strategy called the “molecular clock theory”, in which scientists can use the mutation rate of molecules to determine when animal species diverge.

“Before this study, all available research in terms of molecular evolution of tigers was based on modern tigers, which means we could only investigate the evolutionary process of their direct ancestors,” she said.

The discovery also highlights how valuable DNA analysis can be in biological sciences.

The piece of the jawbone excavated from Da’an was not large. Scientists initially thought it belonged to an ancient hyena because other hyena bones were found in the cave.

It was only through analysing the DNA that the researchers could determine that it was a tiger, not a hyena.

Read Also China tiger farms put big cats in the jaws of extinction


“It is not a surprise that you make morphological mistakes if you only get a small part of the [jawbone]. That is why ancient DNA is so important and helpful,” said Sheng.

Scientists would need to identify more bones to give it a specific species classification, and they are very far from figuring out what the ancient tiger might have looked like.

Interestingly, fossils from an ancient species of cave lions called Panthera spelaea have been found in the region, piquing the researchers’ interest in whether the lions and tigers interacted with one another. As of now, we do not have enough information to determine either way.

The oldest known fossil that is considered a close relative of tigers belonged to a species named Panthera zdanskyi. It was found in 2004 in Gansu province in northwest China and is estimated to be between 2.16 and 2.55 million years old.

Tons of other animals have clitorises — and they can teach us more about human sexuality

Paola Rosa-Aquino

Fri, December 23, 2022 

A common death adder hiding in leaf litter.Auscape/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

• Many animals have clitorises, a female sex organ, but experts say they're understudied.

• Scientists recently discovered that female snakes have a two-part clitoris.

• Learning about sex organs in the animal kingdom could teach us more about human anatomy.

Scientists know a lot about animals' male reproductive organs. But compared to the penis, the clitoris has been shrouded in mystery.

Both the penis and the clitoris develop from the same tissue, so they share many similarities. Understanding these structures in depth doesn't only reveal the biology and evolution of sexual organs in the animal kingdom — it can teach us about our own sexuality.

"In biology, we have for many, many decades — even centuries — taken the male body as the norm. Female is like the weird deviation," Patricia Brennan, a genital morphologist at Mount Holyoke College, told Insider."For many years, I've been trying to fill out those unknown areas of female reproductive biology."

She said she's seen more interest in this field in recent years, mostly from young female researchers. "I think they're going to be the ones who are going to be able to answer a lot of questions in upcoming years."

Brennan said the clitoris is found in all terrestrial vertebrates — including lizards, snakes, crocodiles, turtles, and mammals. The only known exception is birds.

From snakes to bottlenose dolphins, here are some of the most impressive and interesting clitorises in the animal kingdom.

Also, in case you were wondering (we were), the plural form of "clitoris" is "clitorises." "Clitorides" is also acceptable if you want to be more technical.

Scientists found clitorises in female snakes

Image of a horizontal slice of a snake’s abdomen, showing its hemiclitoris, labeled HC.Megan Folwell

In December, researchers provided the first major description of the female snake clitoris.

In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists looked at nine species of snakes from different areas of the world, including Australia, Central America, and South America.

They found that all female snakes studied have a pair of clitorises — or hemiclitores, a two-part clitoris.

"We found them in all the species we looked at," Brennan, a co-author of the study, said. "It is in fact, the first morphological description of a snake having a clitoris."

Using modern anatomical tools, researchers closely studied the cellular makeup of the clitoris in the Australian death adders, a venomous snake species. They found it was composed of erectile tissue and bundles of nerves.

Brennan said the fact that snake species have intersex individuals has heightened confusion about the creature's genital organs over the years.

Lizards have 2-part clitorises they can tuck back into their body

An arboreal alligator lizard, one of the creatures known to have a two-part clitoris.K Hanley CHDPhoto/Shutterstock

Like snakes, their closests cousins — lizards — have a two-part hemiclitoris.

They were first described in female monitor lizards in 1995 as "miniaturized mirror images of the hemipenes of the males."

Brennan said the hemiclitores of lizards are reversible, meaning they can be flipped out of the body and tucked back in.

Bonobos rub their enlarged clitorises against each other

Bonobos are known for rubbing their clitorises on each other.Thomson Reuters

Female bonobos have enlarged clitorises between their legs. They rub their clitorises on each other — a process called genito-genital rubbing.

Scientists perceive it as greeting or an effort to diffuse tension.

Spotted hyenas have 8-inch clitorises

A female spotted hyena's clitoris may be the largest in the animal kingdom.Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images

A hyena's clitoris extends approximately 8 inches from her body and comes with a pair of what looks like testicles, but is actually their fused labia, according to researchers. They use it to pee and copulate.

Moreover, the hyena's clitoris also has a birth canal, which is only an inch in diameter, Insider previously reported. Consequently, pushing a cub through this canal can often be fatal.

Bottlenose dolphins have clitorises that might be for sexual pleasure

A bottlenose dolphin pictured in the Moray Firth, Scotland. Researchers believe the dolphin's clitoris provides pleasure during sex.Getty Images

Female bottlenose dolphins have clitorises similar to humans.

In a January 2022 study, Brennan and other researchers analyzed clitorises from 11 female bottlenosed dolphins that died of natural causes.

Their findings suggest that, like those in human females, the dolphin's clitoris provides pleasure during sex.

 

Emotions and culture are most important for acceptance of carnivore management strategies

LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH (IZW)

Research News

IMAGE: SPOTTED HYENA WITH MAASAI PASTORALIST AND CATTLE IN NGORONGORO CRATER view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: OLIVER HÖNER/LEIBNIZ-IZW

Emotions towards and cultural importance of large carnivores are better predictors of the acceptance of management strategies by local communities than the extent of livestock depredation. This is the result of a new interdisciplinary investigation led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW). They conducted 100 questionnaires with Maasai pastoralists in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, focusing on three large carnivore species (spotted hyenas, lions and leopards) and three management strategies (no action, relocation and lethal control). An emphasis on socio-cultural variables is key to understanding human-carnivore relationships and challenges the traditional focus on livestock depredation in human-carnivore conflict research, the scientists conclude. The findings are published in the open access scientific journal "Frontiers in Conservation Science".

Support from local communities is required to implement successful wildlife management strategies. A key challenge is that the relationship between local communities with large carnivores are complex: on the one hand, the animals are often considered charismatic, culturally important and emotionally evocative. Positive emotions such as joy have been suggested to predict the success of conservation-oriented management strategies. This is also true for the cultural importance of large carnivores. On the other hand, negative emotions such as fear and disgust as well as negative experiences such as livestock depredation - the traditional focus of human-carnivore conflict research - have been suggested to predict the acceptance of invasive measures such as relocation and lethal control. Past research looked at these factors separately, but did not compare them at the same time to see which is the best predictor - and which should therefore be prioritised by wildlife managers.

"We assessed for the first time several factors simultaneously for several carnivores to determine which factor best predicted the acceptance of commonly applied management strategies", explains first author Arjun Dheer (Leibniz-IZW). The investigation was conducted in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania. "The NCA is a protected area which includes both wildlife conservation and human livelihoods in its management plan", adds Dheer. The investigation focused on three species: spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), lion (Panthera leo) and leopard (Panthera pardus). "The species we chose are the main predators of livestock in the region and past research in other areas showed that people view them in different ways", explains Dr Oliver Höner (Leibniz-IZW), co-senior author of the paper. The investigation focused on the acceptance of no action (continued protection of the carnivores), relocation and lethal control. Respondents rated the emotions of joy, disgust and fear and the cultural importance of each carnivore species. They were also asked to report on how many cattle, goats, sheep and donkeys they lost to the carnivores over the past three years.

The main result is that emotions and cultural importance were stronger predictors for the acceptance of specific management strategies than the extent of livestock depredation. "Amongst the emotions, joy was the strongest predictor; it was linked to a preference for no action and a negative assessment of relocation and lethal control. Cultural importance showed a trend similar to joy", explains Dheer. Overall, respondents favoured no action towards the carnivores and rejected relocation and lethal control. "It goes to show how scientists might be barking up the wrong tree by focusing on livestock depredation and negative emotions", explains co-senior author Dr Tanja Straka (Leibniz-IZW & TU Berlin).

"Our findings underpin the role of emotions and cognitions in human-wildlife relationships", concludes Dheer. The traditional emphasis on livestock depredation as the primary issue of concern when harnessing human tolerance of large carnivores is called into question, the authors summarise: it is apparent that emotions and cultural importance need to be considered, even across species that have different reputations. Multi-pronged approaches that combine emotions and cultural factors with the close involvement of local communities can help pave the way for continued human-carnivore coexistence.

###

__ Publication

Dheer A, Davidian E, Jacobs MH, Ndorosa J, Straka TM†, Höner OP† (2021): Emotions and cultural importance predict the acceptance of large carnivore management strategies by Maasai pastoralists. Frontiers in Conservation Science. DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.691975.
†co-senior authors

__ Contact

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
http://www.izw-berlin.de, hyena-project.com

Hyenas die also in road accidents

What factors influence the risk of fatal collisions between vehicles and spotted hyenas in the Serengeti? Findings from a long-term study over three decades

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH (IZW)

 

IMAGE: TWO ADULT FEMALE SPOTTED HYENAS KILLED BY A CAR ON A MAIN GRAVEL ROAD IN THE SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK. view more 

CREDIT: SONJA METZGER/LEIBNIZ-IZW

The Serengeti in Tanzania is home to large populations of wildlife species, including spotted hyenas (Crocuta ocaliz). While many human activities are prohibited in the national park, driving is allowed in and through the protected area. Using a 34-year long-term data set, a scientific team from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) analysed which factors contribute significantly to hyenas being run over and killed by vehicles. The results of the analyses indicate that mainly two factors play a role: firstly, the characteristics of the road and secondly, the annual migration of the large ungulate herds in the Serengeti and the associated seasonal changes in the ocalization of the prey animals of the spotted hyenas. These findings provide new insights into which ecological and individual factors influence predators’ risk of fatal collisions with vehicles and were published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation.

 

Even in protected areas, many wild animals are killed by vehicles worldwide, and these negative impacts of roads continue to increase due to the rise of human populations on the borders of protected areas and the growing interest in wildlife tourism. However, the factors that contribute to fatal collisions between vehicles and wildlife are still poorly understood. 

As part of a long-term study in the Serengeti National Park, the Leibniz-IZW scientists found a total of 104 spotted hyenas that had been run over between 1989 and 2023. Based on these cases, they investigated the question of which spatial and temporal factors particularly contribute to spotted hyenas being run over and killed by vehicles, and whether spotted hyenas of one age group, sex or social status are particularly affected. Long-term studies of this kind are rare. The Serengeti is criss-crossed by a network of roads. The main roads are gravel roads used not only by tourist vehicles, scientists and park staff, but also by trucks, supply vehicles and national bus lines throughout the year. In addition, there are a large number of unpaved wildlife observation and camp access “tracks”.

Overall, two factors proved to be crucial. Firstly, hyenas were more often run over on main roads than on “tracks”, probably because there is more traffic on main roads and vehicles travel faster there. Secondly, the timing and location of fatal collisions varied with the seasonal migration of the large herds of ungulates (wildebeest, zebra and Thomson’s gazelles), which are the main prey of Serengeti spotted hyenas. The results are consistent with other studies showing that the risk of being killed by a vehicle increases with the mobility and distance travelled by the animals. In addition, killed hyenas were found particularly close to watercourses, human dwellings, to which the hyenas are presumably attracted by the presence of human food waste.

“Contrary to expectations, the seasonal variation in the number of tourists in the region did not seem to play a role in the level of mortality,” says Marwan Naciri, who joined the Leibniz-IZW for this project and is the lead author of the publication. 

A special feature of the dataset used in this study is that some of the hyenas that were run over were individually known and therefore factors of their life history could be included in the analysis. For example, the analyses show that adult females were most frequently run over, probably because they are the ones who regularly have to travel long distances between their den and migrating prey herds in order to be able to hunt on the one hand and nurse their cubs left at the den on the other.

“Injuries from illegally laid wire snares also particularly affect adult female hyenas, as we found in a previous study,” says Leibniz-IZW scientist Sarah Benhaiem, involved in both research projects. In summary, roadkills and death by snares could be one of the main causes of death for adult hyenas in the Serengeti.  It is still unclear whether this mortality, which mainly affects adult females, threatens the continued existence of the spotted hyena population in the Serengeti.

Road networks in the Serengenti are likely to expand in the coming decades, including in protected areas. Knowledge of the factors that contribute to fatal collisions between vehicles and wildlife, such as road characteristics, will help design effective mitigation measures, such as reducing the speed and number of vehicles on main roads. Good planning of road construction and implementation of mitigation measures will be essential to ensure wildlife conservation in protected areas.

Publication

Naciri M, Planillo A, Gicquel M, East ML, Hofer H, Metzger S, Benhaiem S (2023): Three decades of wildlife-vehicle collisions in a protected area: Main roads and long-distance commuting trips to migratory prey increase spotted hyena roadkills in the Serengeti. Biological Conservation 279, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109950.

 

Benhaiem S, Kaidatzi S, Hofer H, East ML (2023): Long-term reproductive costs of snare injuries in a keystone terrestrial by-catch species. Anim Conserv 26, 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12798.

Photo caption

Two adult female spotted hyenas killed by a car on a main gravel road in the Serengeti National Park. Photo: Sonja Metzger

Contacts

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)
in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin

Dr. Sarah Benhaiem (German, English and French)
Scientist Dept. Ecological Dynamics 
Tel.: +49 30 5168-466
E-Mail: benhaiem@izw-berlin.de

Steven Seet (German, English)
Head Science Communication 
Tel.: +49 30 5168-125
E-Mail: seet@izw-berlin.de

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JOURNAL

Biological Conservation

DOI

10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109950 

ARTICLE TITLE

Three decades of wildlife-vehicle collisions in a protected area: Main roads and long-distance commuting trips to migratory prey increase spotted hyena roadkills in the Serengeti

Trends and biases in African large carnivore population assessments: Identifying priorities and opportunities from a systematic review of two decades of research

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PEERJ

 

IMAGE: LIONESS WALKING ON RE SAND-DUNE view more 

CREDIT: CHRIS STENGER

African large carnivores have undergone significant range and population declines over recent decades. Although conservation planning and the management of threatened species requires accurate assessments of population status and monitoring of trends, there is evidence that biodiversity monitoring may not be evenly distributed or occurring where most needed. 

 

New research published in the Open Access, peer-reviewed journal PeerJ provides the first systematic review of African large carnivore population assessments published over the last two decades (2000-2020), to investigate trends in research effort and identify knowledge gaps. The article is a timely review for a very important conservation topic, and provides an informed broad-scale framework for decision-making that is currently lacking in the field of large carnivore research in Africa - to guide funding, research investment, and priorities.

 

Researchers from the University of Oxford, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa and Panthera used generalised linear models and generalised linear mixed models to identify taxonomic and geographical biases in previously published research into large carnivores in Africa, and also uncovered biases associated with land use type and author nationality.

 

“Research effort is significantly biassed towards lions (Panthera leo) and against striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), despite the latter being the species with the widest continental range. African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) also exhibited a negative bias in research attention, although this is partly explained by its relatively restricted distribution,” write the authors. “Our findings highlight the urgent need for additional cheetah population assessments, particularly in northern, western, and central Africa. Due to their large country ranges, studies in Chad and Ethiopia should especially be considered a priority.”

 

Population assessments have been biassed towards southern and eastern Africa, particularly South Africa and Kenya. Northern, western, and central Africa are generally under-represented. Most studies have been carried out in photographic tourism protected areas under government management, while non-protected and trophy hunting areas received less research attention. 

 

Outside South Africa, 41% of studies did not include authors from the study country, suggesting that significant opportunities exist for capacity building. Overall, large parts of Africa remain under-represented in the literature, and opportunities exist for further research on most species and in most countries.

 

The authors developed recommendations for actions aimed at overcoming the identified biases and provide researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with priorities to help inform future research and monitoring agendas.

 

Recommendations 

 

Reducing the identified geographical and taxonomic biases in population assessments would help ensure that all species and areas of conservation importance have an adequate knowledge base available, with the potential to improve their conservation outlook.

 

Geographical biases in research and assessments are immediate hurdles for science-based conservation management of African large carnivores. As a result, northern, western, and central Africa should be considered priority regions for future research.

 

Increased attention should in particular be given to the twenty-six countries which currently lack any published estimates, especially Angola, DRC, South Sudan, and Chad, given their considerable large carnivore country ranges and their potential importance for the conservation of these species. 

 

Building capacity of researchers and practitioners in large carnivore survey and monitoring techniques in under-represented areas should be a priority. The fact that only 59% of studies outside of South Africa included a co-author from the study country reinforces suggestions that research in developing countries is disproportionately led by scientists from more developed areas, and shows there is considerable need for such capacity building efforts. 

 

Donors and foreign researchers should maximise the involvement of local scientists, students, and practitioners in future assessments, including through capacity building initiatives such as the provision of training, funding, and equipment. Conservation donors and funders should encourage efforts in understudied regions, as well as for understudied species, to ensure that conservation research occurs where it is most needed. 

 

On a species level, population assessments of striped hyena are needed, and further population assessments of African wild dogs are essential, particularly given the species is classified as Endangered. Such efforts are especially required in countries that have been identified as critical for the species, but where no recent assessments have been carried out (e.g. Botswana and Tanzania). 

Urgent need for additional cheetah population assessments, particularly in northern, western, and central Africa. Due to their large country ranges, studies in Chad and Ethiopia should especially be considered a priority. As in the case of African wild dog, development and standardisation of cheetah population monitoring techniques, including the exploration of citizen-science based approaches, are recommended.

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JOURNAL

PeerJ

DOI

10.7717/peerj.14354 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Trends and biases in African large carnivore population assessments: Identifying priorities and opportunities from a systematic review of two decades of research

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Nov-2022