Chimp filmed cleaning dead son's teeth

March 17, 2017 by Bob Yirka 

(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers from the U.K., the Netherlands and the U.S. has filmed a grown female chimpanzee cleaning her son's teeth after he died. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Edwin van Leeuwen, Katherine Cronin and Daniel Haun offer a description of the circumstances under which they shot the video and their ideas on why the female was behaving the way she was. 

Chimps have been observed cleaning one another's teeth on multiple occasions. Besides serving as a hygienic practice, it is believed to be a bonding ritual as it typically occurs between those that are seen to be close to one another. Chimps have also been observed brushing the fur of dead group members. But never before has a chimp been observed tending to the teeth of a deceased member of their group.

The researchers report that the chimps involved were living in the wild at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust in Zambia and that the deceased young male chimp appeared to have died due to a lung infection. The deceased chimp had been orphaned four years before and was subsequently adopted by the older female. They report also that prior to the teeth cleaning, the older chimp had cradled her adopted son's head in her hands as she examined his teeth. She then removed a piece of straw from her mouth and began using it to remove bits of debris from between the teeth of the deceased chimp. Another younger female chimp, the daughter of the older female sat nearby watching. The researchers note that as the older chimp removed the dental debris, she placed it in her own mouth, perhaps in an attempt to understand why her son had died.

It is impossible to know the motives of the older chimp, of course, though it is easy to apply human emotions to the scene shown in the video—it looks like a grieving mother. But scientists have not been able to prove that chimps feel grief, or a similar emotion. They also have no idea to what degree chimps understand death. The researchers suggest that the isolated activities of the chimp in the video might offer some clues as to how mortuary rituals began in humans.

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Prehistoric carnivore dubbed 'scarface' discovered in Zambia

Date: August 13, 2015

Source: Field Museum

Summary: Scientists have identified a new species of pre-mammal in what is now Zambia. 

Thanks to a unique groove on the animal's upper jaw, it was dubbed Ichibengops, which combines the local Bemba word for scar, and the common Greek suffix for face. Put simply: Scarface. Believed to be roughly the size of a dachshund, Ichibengops lived around 255 million years ago, and was a member of Therocephalia, a group of ancient mammal relatives that survived the largest mass extinction in history (the Permian-Triassic extinction). The species description was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology by University of Utah, University of Washington and Burke Museum, and The Field Museum.

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Dramatic update on Douglas the orphaned hippo

The story of Douglas, the orphaned hippo raised at Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust in Zambia was reported in Wildlife Extra in last year.

Douglas is now two and a half years old, although not yet his full size, having about two and a half tonnes of growing still to go! he is fending for himself, however, and interacting with other hippos in South Luangwa National Park.

His life is not without incident, though, as the latest update from Chipembele's Steve Tolon reveals. Steve wrote:

"Douglas has become more independent and 'chilled', and doesn't bother us anywhere near as much as he used to.

"He was always pushing open an outside door and sneaking in, sometimes sleeping in the bedroom until discovered.

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Zambia begins hunting of big cats again

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Kevin Heath

On Friday, Tourism and Arts Minister, Jean Kapata announced that the ban on hunting of lions and leopards is to be lifted in the country. The ban has been in place since 2013. Lion can be hunted again from next year and leopards can be hunted and killed from later this year.

The ban on lion hunting was established in Zambia when surveys showed that there could be as few as 2,500 wild lions left in the country. The number of leopards is not known as there has been no recent survey undertaken.

Kapata announced at the press conference that “I am lifting the ban on the following conditions, the guidelines are drafted into a statutory instrument so that they become part of the wildlife law. Lion hunting should only resume in the 2016/2017 hunting season and not this year.

“Leopard hunting can resume this year 2015/2016 season, but with very cautionary quotas”.

Source

Liuwa's only male lion found dead

Liuwa’s lion pride has suffered a major setback as its only male lion has died. It is thought that the death of the lion was caused by either poisoning or disease.

Last year, three cubs were born to the pride in Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia, and as they have not yet reached maturity no new adult male can yet be introduced. Liuwa Park manager Rob Reid explains: “We will have to wait about a year before introducing new male lions to the park – lions typically kill cubs that they have not sired in order to stimulate the female coming into oestrus.”

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Orphaned hippo Douglas has been successfully released back into the wild

An orphaned baby hippo named Douglas, who captured the hearts of many after he starred on ITV1’s ‘Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans’ with his two terrier friends Molly and Coco, has been successfully released back into the wild in zambia.

Back in February 2013 Douglas was just two weeks old and close to death when he was rescued by Conservation Lower Zambezi and sent to the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust (CWET) to be under the care of experienced wildlife rehabilitators Anna and Steve Tolan. This was the first time Anna and Steve, had taken in a hippo.

Steve Tolan said: “We constructed a pool and brought in dedicated carers to look after Douglas who initially was bottle fed and looked to his human carers for reassurance and companionship and even swimming lessons.

“Douglas has now been fending for himself since he was weaned in January and is surviving and thriving. He has made his first few attempts to join the wild pod in the Luangwa River. It will probably be a long, slow process until he is fully accepted into the pod but he is on his way.”

To find out more about Chipembele and the work it does click here 

Watch Douglas's story below 

Read on ...

Trophy hunting is back in Zambia

Zambia’s 2013 ban on hunting has been lifted, its Minister of Tourism and Arts, Jean Kapata, has announced. This means hunting wildlife, with the exception of big cats, is now legal across the 19 hunting blocks.

Ms Kapata said that the hunting will be conducted under laid down conditions and strict supervision from the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and the ban on big cats will remain until a survey on lion population numbers is complete.

Hunting elephants, though, will be allowed. This news comes at the same time as new research has revealed that an estimated 100,000 elephants in Africa were killed for their ivory between 2010 and 2012 and elephant population numbers are declining by two per cent to three per cent a year. This effectively means that more of the animals are being killed than are being born.

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Zambian rhinos making a long slow recovery from extermination

12,000 rhinos massacred in 1970s & 1980s

September 2013. In the 1970s Zambia had Africa's 3rd largest black rhino population estimated at 12,000. Approximately 4,000 lived in the Luangwa Valley and about 2,000 of those were found in North Luangwa National Park (NLNP). By 1990 these had been virtually exterminated from the country and black rhino were declared nationally extinct in 1998.

Through the partnership known as the North Luangwa Conservation Programme, an agreement between the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) & Zambia Wildlife Authority, poaching was brought under control and by 2001 a proposal was put forward to reintroduce black rhino to NLNP. In 2003 the first of four deliveries took place with the arrival of five black rhino to NLNP. Ten more arrived in 2006, five more in 2008 and the last five were delivered in 2010. 

No rhinos poached, but elephant poaching worse than ever

Since 2003, eight animals have died naturally, there have been no black rhinos poached, & thirteen calves have been born, giving a populations today of 30. Three calves were born in 2013 alone. However, poaching is on the increase and elephant poaching in the ecosystem has taken a significant uptick in the last five years. 2013 poached elephant records will exceed all others over the past 20 years. The threat to the black rhino population is very real and present. A sobering thought: in the 1970s there were 12,000 rhinos in Zambia; just over a decade later, there were none. In 2013, there are less than 12,000 elephants left in Zambia; where will be a decade from now?

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Zambian truck driver bites and stabs giant python

A Zambian truck driver was forced to kick, bite and stab his way from the clutches of a giant python.

Kelvin Katoka, 25, unknowingly ran into the giant snake, while driving his excavator in the bush at a copper mine in north western Zambia.

"Within no time, the python was all over my body and it then threw me on the ground," he said from his hospital bed, where he has been recovering for nearly a month.

Rock pythons are Africa's largest snake and can grow up to 23 feet long. They have been known to kill and swallow whole antelope, wildebeest and even crocodiles.

Attacks on humans are rare.

Mr Katoka managed to bite the python as it coiled around him and held on in a "long struggle".

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Army worms invade Zambian maize fields

24 December 2012 Last updated at 17:45

There are fears that Zambia's maize harvest could be decimated by an invasion of army worms, so named because they eat most vegetation in their way.

Maize is a staple crop in Zambia and any threat to the harvest could push the country towards food insecurity.

BBC Africa's Mutuna Chanda reports from Lusaka.

For more African news from the BBC, download the Africa Today podcast.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20838877

Zambia arms wildlife police; declares ‘war’ on poaching & clamps down on hunting

Poaching and hunting clamp down in Zambia
September 2012. Sylvia Masebo, Zambia's Minister of Tourism, has declared ‘war' on poachers as she announced the arming of wildlife police before the end of this year.

Ms. Masebo announced the arming of police when she commissioned the new uniform for ZAWA officers at Chunga Wildlife Training School in the Kafue National Park. The minister also announced that they will be reviewing hunting licenses and clamping down on the abuse of ‘special licences'.

Ms Masebo, who donned the new ZAWA combat uniform said, "I am declaring war against poaching. ZAWA officers will deal sternly with wildlife crime. We must give value to our animals just like we give value to humans. Wildlife is not just for eating. It's a resource that could improve our country's economy. We will get you fire-arms before the end of the year. ZAWA officers have been killed on a number of occasions by ruthless poachers in remote areas," she said.

Ms Masebo said the economic value of wildlife can only be realised if the natural resource is preserved and protected.

"The government is committed to developing tourism, and wildlife is a cornerstone of this sector," she said.

And Ms Masebo said like Minister of Home Affairs Edgar Lungu, she does not want anyone to go to her office to lobby for special licences.

"And to my friends, please don't come to my office to ask for special hunting licences. Those are for traditional leaders during ceremonies," she said.

Poaching a threat to national security
Speaking earlier, Lieutenant General Mihova said Zambia has become a poaching hot spot.
General Mihova, who is also the chairperson for the Central Joint Operations Committee (a grouping of defence and security wings in the country), said poaching poses a threat to national security.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/zawa-zambia.html

Six Black rhinos die of natural causes in Zambia's North Luangwa

All died within weeks of each otherDecember 2011: In a tragic blow, six black rhinos have died in Zambia in a period of just a few weeks.

The animals died from natural causes - but the age, sex and cause of all the deaths, which all happened in North Luangwa National Park, are all seemingly unrelated.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society's North Luangwa Conservation programme (FZS-NLCP) has convened an Emergency Rhino Forum and invited experts from across southern Africa to brainstorm and attempt to resolve why these deaths have all occurred in such a short space of time.

'We had been optimistic we were turning a corner...'A spokesmen for FZS-NLCP said: ‘It is with great sadness that we report these deaths. Until recently we were optimistic we were turning a corner with the new founder population.

‘We had experienced nine births and four deaths - all natural - up to that point and had a population of 30. Three of the females had become first time mothers in 2011. This was very positive news as one female had been in NLNP for five years without successfully breeding.

‘The tragedies began in late October when a female called Mwine Mpanga who had given birth three months earlier was sighted without her calf. No spoor was seen and the calf has not been found since.

It came down to the nutritional crunch‘Although we can't rule out predation or social aggressive interaction for a calf of this age, the most likely assumption is that this female stopped lactating during this difficult time of the year, just prior to the rains when vegetation and water resources are at their worst - a period we refer to as the nutritional crunch. Mwine was unable to sustain herself and the calf nutritionally and, as a consequence, the calf has died.

‘The second and third deaths were similar to the Mwine Mpanga situation in that a female, Buntungwa, had given birth three months earlier to a calf. This was the female who had been translocated to NLNP in 2006 and had not bred successfully in the five years since. We were very excited she'd had a calf and felt it was a positive endorsement from Buntungwa that things were going well. Her carcass was found in early November but the calf has not been found and is presumed dead.

‘It is speculated that Buntungwa simply tried too hard to support herself and the calf and with the nutritional crunch at its height, she was unable to survive.'

Young male was stumblng and injuredJust a few days later, came more bad news, when an 18-month-old male was seen stumbling and appeared to be injured. As he was still with his mother and suckling, it was felt leaving him with her would be the best thing to do. The following morning he was found dead with his mother standing over him. A post mortem examination revealed extensive injury and major trauma to the ribs and shoulders as a result of social aggressive interaction. Dominant rhino bulls are known to fend off sub-adults from females who are in oestrus and this young male died from his injuries.

Just a few days later a report came in regarding a female translocated to NLNP in 2010. She was found to be listless and lethargic and had rapidly deteriorated since a sighting two weeks earlier. She was treated for sleeping sickness and monitored closely over the next 48hrs. She had settled in a small gully and was too weak to stand but continued to eat the lucerne she was offered. An emergency vet was called to assess her condition but she had died by the following morning.

Hoping the disasters were over, conservationists were horrified to learn that a rhino's transmitter had been picked up emitting just 15 pulses per minute, indicating mortality. A ground team investigated and found the body of a 2006 translocated 14-year-old male. It was not possible to carry out an extensive post mortem due to the state of the carcass but evidence suggests he died as a result of fighting injuries.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/rhino-zambia.html

Orphaned elephant calf rescued in Zambia

Found emaciated and woundedNovember 2011: A newly orphaned elephant calf has been rescued in Zambia.

The orphan, named Kavalamanja, was rescued by the Elephant Orphanage Project (EOP) a few weeks after the body of its mother was discovered. The elephant had been killed by poachers and her tusks had been removed.

When he was found, Kavalamanja was emaciated and bearing infected wounds on his body, his face was quite sunken in and his spine protruding. But he was instantly responsive towards staff trying to eat and drink whatever they could offer. The team rehydrated him with electrolytes and then started him on a weak milk formula, which he took to immediately.

Hopes he will be able to rejoin the herdHe was then mildly sedated for the journey back to the orphanage. Rachael Murton, the EOP manager, was present throughout the journey and the calf took comfort in sucking on her finger. Kavalamanja is still responding well to the team and it is hoped that after a period of quarantine he will be able to join the rest of the herd.

EOP is supported by Colchester Zoo's charity Action for the Wild rescues, rehabilitates and releases orphaned elephants back into the wild. The Elephant Orphanage Project (EOP) which operates in South Kafue in Zambia has worldwide support - including funding from Colchester Zoo in Britain.

For more information or to donate to this project or other projects which Action for the Wild supports please visit www.actionforthewild.org.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/elephant-zambia2011.html

Lions Maul Man To Death In Safari Shower

Peter Evershed was dragged from the bathroom by five lions at a bush camp on Zimbabwe's border with Zambia.The 59-year-old businessman had been on a fishing trip at the Chitake Camping site in northern Zimbabwe with his wife Jane.


According to Mashonaland West provincial police spokesman Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara, Mr Evershed was taking a shower under a tree near the campsite when he was surrounded by the pride.

"He screamed for help from other tourists who quickly drove to the scene flashing their lights in a bid to scare away the marauding lions," he said.

But the attack continued until safari operator Steven Pop fired shots in the air to scare off the lions.

However, by that time Mr Evershed had suffered a fatal throat wound, according to Zimbabwe's Herald Online.

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force head Johnny Rodrigues said that a surge in poaching and illegal hunting has helped made the wild animals more aggressive.

Last month an elephant killed a visitor in a nearby area, and soon after a conservation activist died in a charge by a wounded buffalo.

Safaris have become an important revenue source for Zimbabwe, which has suffered from hyper-inflation in recent years.