Monthly Archives: January 2024

Back from Africa: Part 2

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We were still at Lebala Camp in Botswana (see Back from Africa: Part 1). I had just met a German couple who were profoundly concerned about dogs – in particular the African wild dog, Lycaon pictus.  Only about 6600 individuals remain in this endangered species, but what troubled my friends is that the dogs and lions at Lebala were getting along very poorly.  If the emotion of hate can be attributed to nonhuman animals, it can probably be applied to the relationship between lions and African wild dogs.  Both compete for the same food, mostly ungulates (mammals with hooves) and lions will kill dogs if given the opportunity.  This is what worried my new-found friends, who were deeply concerned about the viability of the pack of 13 individuals within Lebala.

Four African wild dogs from the Lebala pack rest in the tall grass. Credit: Cindy Miller.

It turns out they were right to be concerned.  That very day, our local pack was attacked by a group of lions and the alpha female was killed.  Nobody really knows what happened, but her body was discovered near the den – which is a hole where the pups are hidden.  The pack generally goes out hunting during the day, and the alpha female guards the pups, using distraction to keep predators, usually lions, away from the den.  

Most of the Leballa pack with the den entrance in the foreground. Credit: Cindy Miller.

When we arrived at the scene, we were not allowed to look at the remains, as our guide was concerned at how we might react, and, I believe, wanted to show respect for the dogs. The rest of the pack, littermates from the previous year, were five males and one female. Six pups populated the den, and the young adults were feverishly digging them out.  There was lots of tail-wagging, butt sniffing, and playing when the pups finally emerged from their subterranean den.  It was not clear to me that the dogs were behaving strangely, but our guide assured us that the six young adults were unusually wary.

Pups emerging from the den. Notice one pup is still making its way out. Credit: Cindy Miller.

We were, of course, saddened over the loss of the female, and very concerned about whether the pack would be able to survive.  However, the behavior of the pups was incredibly joyful and uplifting.  They were so happy to be liberated from their den, and equally happy to be in the company of their beloved family (am I anthropomorphizing a bit?).  Everybody was jumping on everybody, with lots of wrestling, batting and yipping, that might be typical of a litter of domestic dogs that had just awakened from a nice siesta. This closeness promotes pack unity as the dogs mature, and helps contribute to their remarkably efficient hunting success. They hunt by chasing prey until they tire them out, and enjoy an unusually high success rate in comparison to other predators (including lions).  

The final pup – the runt of this litter – finally emerges. Credit: Cindy Miller

The future for this pack was uncertain.  Males stay with the pack, while females usually disperse to other packs.  One problem is that as dog populations become more scattered and habitat becomes more fragmented (as a result of human development), it is difficult for females to find a new pack to disperse to.  The pups in this pack were still nursing, but old enough so that some of their sustenance came from meat which was regurgitated to them by the young adults.

One of the males regurgitates food for a pup. Credit: Cindy Miller.

However, our guide did not know if these pups were old enough to survive without their mother.  Mother’s milk provides pups with nutrients, but at this age, water is very limiting during the dry season.  So even if the pups could be adequately fed, it is not clear if they would be hydrated enough to survive.

Hoping for the best…

Back from Africa: Part 1

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I know it’s been a while, and I attribute my declining blogging productivity to two factors: needing to devote my attention to the second edition of my textbook (see below), and working under the guidance of a declining population of neurons.  It turns out that 71-year-old-brains have some serious limitations.

Recently, six of my closest friends and I were privileged to travel though parts of Botswana and Zimbabwe with the goal of viewing some of the world’s most spectacular animals.  Most were terrestrial, but some – like hippos and crocs – spent much of their time in water.

Our accommodations in Lebala Camp in northern Botswana. A sausage tree (scientific name unknown to me) looms above the “tent”. Fruits crashed on our roof, summoning hungry hippos to visit us from the nearby marsh. Credit: Cindy Miller

As a behavioral ecologist, I spent a considerable part of my life exploring the sex lives of dragonflies and spiders.  I was particularly enamored with the thought of upping my scale, and observing lions do the deed. Most nights, the sounds of extremely enthusiastic lions reverberated through the early morning hours, but, alas, I never did get to see them in action.  But our group of friends did see some fascinating lion behavior. We were in Lebala Camp in northern Botswana (see above), and our guide, Thabo, told us there was a pride of lions nearby, and asked if we would like to see them.  “Yes please” we roared. It did not take too long before we came across the mother lode – a group of 19 adult females, subadults of both sexes, and several cubs.   But there was something peculiar about the group.  As you might expect from the only social cat species (the other 40 cat species are non-social) many lions in this pride are literally on top of each other.  Much of their time and energy is devoted to licking, pawing, and wrestling playfully.   

Part of the large pride at Lebala Camp. Credit: Frank Singer

Unexpectedly, members of this pride were divided into two groups, separated by a two or three meter wide no-go zone. Several times, a cub from one group attempted to engage a lion from the other group only to be rebuffed with an outstretched swipe of the paw, often accompanied with a nasty-sounding snarl. One subadult male was particularly vigorous in defending the border between the two factions, repeatedly snarling, raising himself up and roaring at a particularly persistent cub from across the no-go zone.

The pride is separated into two factions. Credit: Frank Singer

What was going on?  I asked Thabo about it, and he seemed a bit surprised by the apparent rancor.  This was a particularly large pride.  The three males were off patrolling their territory, while there was also one more female who had recently birthed a litter with an unknown number of cubs – after the birth she took off somewhere and had not been seen since.  So the total number of lions in this pride was upwards of 25 – a large number of large animals.  Was this pride about to split?

Overall, we watched this pride for about two hours.  About midway through our vigil, two males returned and everything changed.  Several females ran towards the two males, excitedly seeking their attention.  The males were rock stars, and their fans – adult females, and subadults of both sexes were doing all they could to attract their heros’ attention. The youngest cubs mostly stayed by our jeep, watching the interactions.  Personally, I was aggrieved by this shameless display of unconditional subservience and adulation by the females and subadults of both sexes.

A male surrounded by his adoring fans. A termite mound juts up in the background. Credit: Cindy Miller.

Male lion presence definitely changed the dynamics of interactions within the rest of the pride. Some females took off in a hurry, only to be corralled by the males.  Others moved to a central staging area – eventually most of the pride settled in a new location a few hundred meters away. One male ran off in pursuit of a couple of females.  I don’t know if they were off having fun, or if he was trying to return them to the pride.  According to our guide, even though males are dominant, they prefer if the females are happy and getting along with each other.  Pride instability can ruin the males’ chances at reproductive success. 

All about peace and love…