African Wild Dogs, or Lycaon pictus, are indigenous to many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They, along with wolves and domesticated dogs, are classified in the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, and family Canidae, so all three species share many similar characteristics (Woodroffe & Sillero-Zubiri, 2012). Lycaon pictus translates to “painted wolf,” referring to the unique brown, gold, black, and white mottling of their coats which allows recognition of individuals. They are 29.5 to 43 inches in height (approximately the size of a Great Dane), but their large rounded ears and lack of a fifth toe set them apart from their domesticated counterparts (African wild dog (lycaon pictus), 2014).
African Wild Dogs are characteristically gregarious, living in packs of 6 to 20 headed by an alpha pair that breeds and gives birth to a litter of 2 to 20 pups yearly. Except in unusually large packs, no other members are reproductive, but several are capable of becoming reproductive upon the death of an alpha (Woodroffe & Sillero-Zubiri, 2012). The young are raised by the whole pack, whose members take turns hunting to provide for the alphas and pups and staying behind to guard them. The species is notable for its collectivistic attitude toward pack life—members share resources and aid the weak rather let a member or orphan suffer (African wild dog (lycaon pictus), 2014). The dogs communicate through a variety of vocalizations, which include a hoot to locate lost pack members and a twitter to rouse members to a hunt twice daily—at dawn and at dusk (What’s wild about African Wild Dogs, 2014). They are generalists, preying on large and small animals but preferring prey weighing between 10 and 120 kilograms. A ...
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In this research paper, I will address the changes that occurred within the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park since the reintroduction of the grey wolves. The paper will consist of four sections; the first section will include the history behind the extirpation and subsequent reintroduction of the gray wolf in Northern America. The second section will explore the political controversy that surrounds the reintroduction of the gray wolf in Yellowstone. The third section will contain discuss the gray wolf and its impact on the ecosystem of Yellowstone. I will conclude my essay by explaining how the gray wolves act as climate change buffers in Yellowstone amidst global warming.
Lerner, E. and Lerner, B., 2008. Giraffes and okapi. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science 4
Gray Wolf Optimization Gray wolf optimization is presented in the following subsections based on the work in [13]. 1) Inspiration: Grey wolves are considered as apex predators, meaning that they are at the top of the food chain. Grey wolves mostly prefer to live in a pack. The group size is 512 on average. They have a very strict social dominant hierarchy.
A wolf pack is, at its foundation, simply a family, with the parents (alphas) guiding the activities of the group. Hence, it is easy to believe that dogs are able to bond with human families, especially when the alphas are already parents. The parents view the dog as one of their children, one who remains dependent and will never leave or criticize them (Rogers 1), and in the same manner, the dog views the human parents as if they were his actual parents and as a result, loves and trusts them with his life gladly following them, not once questioning their decisions or actions. For these reasons, humans have found release in the company of dogs because dogs do not judge. By way of example, Sigmund Freud was notably a bad singer and as a result, never sang in public, however he often hummed an aria while petting his dog (Rogers 2). In the presence of dogs, our need to self-censor our words and actions vanishes (Rogers 2). Ultimately, dogs and human beings are able to form such strong emotional bonds through love and
U.S. Department of the interior, National Park Service. (2013). Endangered Species. Retrieved from website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/endangeredspecies/index.cfm
Deborah L. Duffy, Yuying Hsu, James A. Serpell ,Applied Animal Behavior Science - 1 December 2008 (Vol. 114, Issue 3, Pages 441-460, DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006)
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, n.d. Web. 29 Mar 2012. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/20731/0
A Chi Square Test of Independence was conducted to evaluate the relationship between age, gender and the frequency of Agonistic behavior. Results showed a belugas’ sex did not relate to agonistic behavior, X2 (1, N = 89) = 3.50, p > .05, Ф = .062. All categories of belugas fell within a close range of each other for showing agonistic behaviors. Males, females, juveniles, and adults were shown to equally portray agonistic behaviors.
Rabies is a deadly virus that occurs in the brain. It can affect all mammals but the ones that are most commonly found with the virus are dogs, bats, raccoons, skunks, and coyotes. This means that any non-mammal can not contract the virus, such as fish, birds, and reptiles (2). The virus can be contracted by humans with saliva transfer with broken skin contact from an animal which has the disease. As this is the most common form of transferring the disease it is very believable that Tea Cake contracts the virus from the wild dog that “managed to bite [him] high up on his cheek bone once” (1). The rabies virus works by being a bullet shaped virus that directly attacks th...
Strait, David S. "The Feeding Biomechanics and Dietary Ecology of Australopithecus Africanus." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 12 Dec. 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. .
African Elephants are considered herbivores, they are both browsers and grazers; they will eat rough sticks, stems and leaves of plants as well as grasses, sedges, and fruit.
The organism I have selected for selective breeding is a retrieve Labrador dog because retrieve Labradors are the most popular breed worldwide. Although the research has made great progress in the development of a healthy large breed companion retrieve Labrador dog, the research is not yet complete which means that there is still a long way to go. Labradors are selectively bred for their hunting qualities. They have been bred to have webbed paws so they can swim into water to retrieve the fowl. When retrieving the bird, it is desired that the dogs must have the softest mouths so that the bird may not be damaged.
The impact a wild animal has on a community is severe. In 2009, Sandra Herold, the owner of a 200 pound chimpanzee, called her friend for help. Sandra needed assistance from Charla Nash to get her money back into its cage. Unexpectedly, the chimpanzee mauled Charla. In a 911 call Sandra frantically told the dispatcher what was happening, “He ripped her apart. Shoot him, shoot him”(Copeland 1).
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.