Showing posts with label cheetahs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheetahs. Show all posts

Friday, 26 July 2019

Early first pregnancy is the key to successful reproduction of cheetahs in zoos


JULY 9, 2019

Cheetah experts in many zoos around the world are at a loss. Despite all their efforts, cheetahs often do not reproduce in the desired manner. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), together with colleagues from the Allwetterzoo Münster, have now found a key to the issue: The age of the mothers at the first pregnancy is the decisive factor. In contrast to animals in the wild, felines kept in zoos are often bred only years after they have reached sexual maturity. From the study results, the researchers derive recommendations for keeping cheetahs in zoological gardens. The study was published in the journal Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research.
The concentration of cheetah stress hormones, as measured over several weeks as metabolites in the feces, was as high in mothers as in females who had no offspring. Instead, the age of the mothers is the decisive factor. "We saw from the stud books that the reproduction failed when the females were six years or older at their first introduction to a male," says Bettina Wachter from Leibniz-IZW, head of the study.


Friday, 6 July 2018

Tourism preventing Kenya's cheetahs from raising young, study finds



Research in Maasai Mara linked areas with high density of vehicles to lower numbers of cubs raised to independence

Niki Rust
Thu 21 Jun 2018 10.10 BSTLast modified on Fri 22 Jun 2018 08.24 BST

High levels of tourism can lead to a dramatic reduction in the number of cheetahs able to raise their young to independence, new research has found.

A study in Kenya’s Maasai Mara savannah found that in areas with a high density of tourist vehicles, the average number of cubs a mother cheetah raised to independence was just 0.2 cubs per litter – less than a tenth of the 2.3 cubs per litter expected in areas with low tourism.

Dr Femke Broekhuis, a researcher at Oxford University and the author of the study, surveyed cheetahs in the reserve between 2013 and 2017 to assess how the frequency of tourist vehicles affected the number of cheetah cubs that survived to adulthood.

“During the study there was no hard evidence of direct mortality caused by tourists,” such as vehicles accidentally running over cubs, Broekhuis said. “It is therefore possible that tourists have an indirect effect on cub survival by changing a cheetah’s behaviour, increasing a cheetah’s stress levels or by minimising food consumption.”

Broekhuis said she has seen as many as 30 vehicles around a single cheetah at the same time. “The most vehicles that we recorded at a cheetah sighting was 64 vehicles over a two-hour period,” she said.

Friday, 27 April 2018

How cheetahs outsmart lions and hyenas



Serengeti study shows that cheetahs use situation-dependent methods of protecting their hunted prey from larger predators

Date:  April 10, 2018
Source:  Springer

Cheetahs in the Serengeti National Park adopt different strategies while eating to deal with threats from top predators such as lions or hyenas. A new study in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology shows that male cheetahs and single females eat their prey as quickly as possible. Mothers with cubs, on the other hand, watch out for possible threats while their young are eating in order to give them enough time to eat their fill. The research was led by Anne Hilborn of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment in the US.

Cheetahs are medium-sized carnivores that live alongside large carnivores such as lions and spotted hyenas. These large carnivores are known to not only attack cheetah cubs, but also steal prey in an act called kleptoparasitism. Cheetahs do not have the strength to haul their kills up trees to keep them safe from scavengers as a leopard does, nor can they physically defend themselves against a lion. They therefore tend to hunt when larger predators are away or less active. Hilborn and her colleagues studied 35 years of observations from more than 400 hunts involving 159 cheetahs in the Serengeti in northern Tanzania to find out how cheetah behavior while eating is altered by threats from larger predators.



Friday, 31 March 2017

How cheetahs stay fit and healthy




Date: March 23, 2017
Source: Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB)

Cheetahs are categorized as vulnerable species, partly because they have been considered to be prone to diseases due to their supposed weak immune system. However, they are hardly ever sick in the wild. A research team from the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) recently discovered that cheetahs have developed a very efficient innate "first line of defense" immunity to compensate potential deficiencies in other components of their immune system. The scientists have published their results in the open access journal Scientific Reports of the Nature Publishing Group.

Cheetahs have a relatively low genetic variability which means that, within a population, the individuals have a similar genetic makeup. This is also true for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a genome region that regulates the so-called "adaptive" immune system and is typically highly variable in animal species. The adaptive immune system provides a rapid and specific defense against pathogens, if they have been encountered previously. A low MHC variability should therefore result in a weak adaptive immune system and thus a high vulnerability to diseases. This is often the case in species with low MHC variability, but there are some exceptions, the cheetah indeed being one of them. "During our long-term study that begun in 2002, we investigated more than 300 free-ranging cheetahs that live on farmland in Namibia. We did not encounter any cheetah with symptoms of acute infections, nor did we detect lesions in the examined dead animals," explains Bettina Wachter, head of the cheetah research project.

How can cheetahs cope so well with pathogens despite their supposedly weak adaptive immunity? The immune system is divided into three components:(1) the constitutive innate immune system, which provides a rapid first line of defense against intruders, (2) the induced innate immune system such as the local and systemic inflammatory response, which enhances recovery and decreases pathogen growth, and (3) the adaptive immune system.

Thursday, 5 May 2016

Estimates of cheetah numbers are 'guesswork,' say researchers

Date: May 3, 2016

Source: University of Oxford

Current estimates of the number of cheetahs in the wild are 'guesswork', say the authors of a new study which finds that the population in the cheetah stronghold of Maasai Mara, Kenya, is lower than previously thought.

In the early 1900s it was believed that around 100,000 cheetahs roamed Earth. The most recent estimate by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) puts the figure at 6,600 -- mainly in eastern and southern Africa -- amid fears that the fastest land mammal is racing to extinction.

However, a team of scientists from the Kenya Wildlife Trust's Mara Cheetah Project, the University of Oxford and the Indian Statistical Institute says this number is simply a best guess, given the difficulty of counting cheetahs accurately.

The researchers have now developed a new method to accurately count cheetahs, which in time will help determine the magnitude of the threats they face and assess potential conservation interventions.

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Lead author Dr Femke Broekhuis, Project Director of the Mara Cheetah Project and a post-doctoral researcher at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, said: 'The truth is that estimates of cheetah numbers are only best guesses, because cheetahs are a lot harder to count accurately than one might think. They naturally occur at low densities and move large distances, making them difficult to find.

'Whatever the exact number, we do know that they are extinct in 20 countries and occupy only 17% of their historical range. We also know the major threats facing cheetahs: habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, depleting prey and the illegal pet trade.

'What we have lacked until now is a way to assess whether or not conservation efforts are effective.'

Friday, 10 July 2015

Cheetahs hop aboard vehicle and get up close and personal with tourists in Kenya


5 HOURS AGO JULY 10, 2015 3:32PM

SILLY or brave? This tourist got a little more than he bargained for while on safari in Kenya.

With its razor sharp claws and teeth, this is one moggy you certainly don’t want curling up in your lap.

The bold big cat jumped into the back seat of the jeep as it drove through the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya.

Slowly it sauntered over to where Irish tourist Mickey McCaldin until it was barely a foot away from his face.

Cheetahs are seen as being the less threatening member of the big cat family, although attacks aren’t unheard of. Adam Sandler was the victim of a threatening cheetah attack in 2013.

Scottish tourist Violet D’Mello was also attacked by a cheetah back in 2012 in Kragga Kamma game reserve in South Africa. And in this case the big cats were hand reared, not wild.

“I just remember … something biting my head and dragging me down,” D’Mello said of the attack.

In her case, the attack lasted three minutes, and injuries included cuts to the face, one which was dangerously close to her eye.

Friday, 3 October 2014

Humans to blame for plummeting numbers of cheetahs

Date:
October 2, 2014

Source:
Queen's University, Belfast

Summary:
A new study into how cheetahs burn energy suggests that human activity, rather than larger predators, may force them to expend more energy and thus be the major cause of their decline.

A new study led by Queen's University Belfast into how cheetahs burn energy suggests that human activity, rather than larger predators, may force them to expend more energy and thus be the major cause of their decline.


Wild cheetahs are down to under 10,000 from 100,000 a century ago with conventional wisdom blaming bigger predators for monopolising available food as their habitat becomes restricted. The traditional thinking has been that cheetahs no longer have sufficient access to prey to fuel their enormous energy output when engaging in super-fast chases.


Thursday, 28 August 2014

Cheetah menu: Wildlife instead of cattle

Date:
August 27, 2014

Source:
Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB)

Summary:
Cheetahs primarily prefer wildlife on their menu to cattle, scientists have confirmed. The cheetah is a vulnerable species that only exists on Namibia’s commercial farmland in large populations. Here, local farmers see cheetahs as a potential threat for their cattle.

Friday, 18 July 2014

Cheetah smuggling driving wild population to extinction, report says

Rising demand for luxury pets in the Gulf states taking gruesome toll as two-thirds of snatched cubs are dying en route


The Guardian, Tuesday 15 July 2014 18.39 BST

The rising trade in cheetahs for luxury pets in the Middle East is helping to drive critical populations of the wild cats to extinction, according to new research. The report also reveals the gruesome toll of the trade, with up to two-thirds of the cheetah cubs being smuggled across the war-torn Horn of Africa dying en route. However, the nations at both ends of the trade have now agreed that urgent action is needed.

Cheetahs, famous as the world’s fastest land animal, have lost about 90% of their population over the last century as their huge ranges in Africa and Asia have been taken over by farmland. Fewer than 10,000 remain and numbers are falling. There is an ancient tradition of using trained cheetahs as royal hunting animals in Africa but, more recently, a growing demand for status-symbol pets in the Gulf states has further reduced populations.

Monday, 9 December 2013

Cheetah study gets lions off the hook

Cheetah study gets lions off the hookCheetahs have a hard life on the Serengeti plains. Less than 5% of cubs will survive into adolescence and a previous study puts predation by lions as one of the biggest threats to cheetah cubs. A new study on cheetah cubs in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park suggests that the low survival rates of the Serengeti may not be the norm of cubs and lions may not be the big threat that they are currently considered to be.

The high levels of predation by lions of cheetah cubs in the Serengeti makes some conservationists believe that the two big cats would have difficulty surviving together within conservation areas. The Serengeti study followed 125 cheetah cubs from den to adolescence and only 4.8% survived. This low-level of survival has been considered in conservation policies and strategy with some concluding that the two can not successfully co-exist in defined protected areas.

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

New Insight Into How Cheetahs Catch Their Prey

Sep. 5, 2013 — A new research study has revealed that the cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, matches and may even anticipate the escape tactics of different prey when hunting, rather than just relying on its speed and agility as previously thought.

The study, which has just been published in the Royal Society Journal Biology Letters was carried out by a team of researchers from Queen's University Belfast, in collaboration with other Institutions in the UK (University of Aberdeen, University of Swansea, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, University of Oxford), and elsewhere (North Carolina State University, The Lewis Foundation, South African National Parks, Earth and OCEAN Technologies, Kiel, Germany).

The research team used GPS and accelerometer data loggers deployed on cheetahs, along with traditional observation methods. The study was funded by a Royal Society International Joint Project grant, a NERC New Investigator award and the Lewis Foundation.

Explaining the team's findings, lead researcher Dr Michael Scantlebury, from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen's University Belfast, said: "The more we understand, about the physiology and the hunting tactics of this charismatic animal, the more we are able to ensure its continuing existence."

"Our study found that whilst cheetahs are capable of running at exceptionally high speeds, the common adage that they simply 'outrun' their prey does not explain how they are able to capture more agile animals. Previous research has highlighted their incredible speed and acceleration and their ability to turn after escaping prey. We have now shown that hunt tactics are prey-specific.

"In other words, we now know that rather than a simple maximum speed chase, cheetahs first accelerate towards their quarry before slowing down to mirror prey-specific escaping tactics. We suggest that cheetahs modulate their hunting speed to enable rapid turns, in a predator-prey arms race, where pace is pitted against agility. Basically, cheetahs have clear different chase strategies depending on prey species."

The research suggests that cheetah chases comprise two primary phases, the first an initial rapid acceleration resulting in high speed to quickly catch up with prey, followed by a second, which is a prey-specific slowing period, five to eight seconds before the end of the chase, that enables the cheetah to match turns instigated by prey as the distance between them closes.

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Just 20 individual cheetahs identified in Iran so far, including 6 surviving females


More areas left to be surveyed
March 2013. Based on recent camera trapping surveys in Iran, just 20 different Asiatic cheetahs have been identified in the country. Initiated in late 2011, the first comprehensive national population survey has been implemented by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) and Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) in partnership with Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Panthera

Around half of the country's known cheetah population exist in central province of Yazd with multiple reserves for the species, while rest of the cheetahs roam areas such as Miandasht, Kavir, Turan & Doruneh amongst.

The Asiatic cheetah has attracted intensive attention of national and international scientific communities who are studying various aspects of its life, particularly its population size. However, so far, no precise and accurate estimate of the species population was available, making assessment of conservation measures difficult, or even impossible.

Camera traps
Camera traps have been proposed as a useful way to estimate their numbers, based on other large cat research. However, due to lack of necessary equipment and funding, limited scientific training and absence of an experienced team of trained field biologists, this technique has rarely been applied to the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetahs.

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Dogs cross species barrier, help cheetahs survive


By Sue Manning

Los Angeles — It may sound like a West Side Story-style love story, but some dogs love big cats.

Cheetahs are the fastest mammals in the world, but they also are the world's biggest scaredy-cats — so much so that they don't breed easily and are in danger of going extinct.

Some zoos are introducing dogs to calm the skittish cats and bring attention to their plight. They're pairing "companion dogs" with some cheetahs to serve as playmates and to provide the cats with guidance.

"It's a love story of one species helping another species survive," said Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collections at the St. Louis Zoo and species survival plan coordinator for cheetahs in North America.

Shiley, a 3-year-old male cheetah, and Yeti, a female
 Anatolian shepherd who serves
 as Shiley's partner, take a break during a walk through
 Safari Park, in Escondido, Calif. (Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)

Or, to quote Stephen Stills, it's a matter of loving the one you're with, he said.

"It is all about comforting and reassuring the cheetah," said Janet Rose-Hinostroza, animal training supervisor at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park — the top U.S. breeder of cheetahs in captivity. In the past 40 years, 135 cheetahs have been born at the park's breeding facility.

The cheetahs most often found at zoos and wildlife parks are not considered good breeding candidates, they don't relate well to other cheetahs, or they are abandoned by their mothers, Rose-Hinostroza said. But they seem to take easily to companion dogs and look to the dogs for play and example.

Of the 19 cheetahs at Safari Park, four have dogs. Four of the zoo's cheetahs also have dogs.



From The Detroit News: 

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Cheetahs in snow? See the video

Where can you see cheetah in snow? Iran holds the only surviving population of Asiatic cheetah. Photo credit Iran Cheetah Society

Where is the only place on earth where you can see cheetahs in snow? January 2013. Many people are surprised to learn that there is a population of cheetah in Iran at all. They are the last surviving remnant of the Asiatic cheetah race. Once distributed from the Indian subcontinent across Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran to the Arabian Peninsula and Syria, the Asiatic cheetah is now on the verge of extinction and one of the most endangered members of the cat family in the world. The last surviving cheetahs in Iran mostly live in the semi arid and mountainous northern regions, where there are regular snow falls in winter months. The last cheetahs in India were shot in 1947. Since then, the Asiatic cheetah has disappeared from most of its former range. In the last 20 years, Iran has been the final stronghold for the Asiatic cheetah, known in Iran as yuz, although there have been occasional reports of cheetahs in Pakistan, Kazakhstan. According to the latest population surveys in Iran, the cheetah population in Iran does not exceed 70 individuals. There has been some recent controversy in Iran about the cheetah population of Iran, and it has been extensively discussed in the media. On the basis of recent camera trapping efforts ongoing since last winter by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in collaboration with Iranian Department of Environment (DoE), Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Panthera, the most robust conclusion for the population is fewer than 70.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/snow-cheetah.html

Thursday, 3 January 2013

Search for cheetahs launched in new area of Iran


Pakistan border a difficult location to survey
December 2012. South-eastern Iran has always been thought to hold the Asiatic cheetahs, however, no proper survey has ever been conducted in this part of Iran to assess the species status. 

Accordingly, as part of the cheetah monitoring program initiated in late 2011, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) has launched a new survey in the Darband Ravar Wildlife Refuge in partnership with camera traps shared by Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project and Panthera. The area, which is the south-eastern most reserve where the cheetahs have been confirmed in Iran, has been recently upgraded to Wildlife Refuge status due to recent reported cheetah sightings.

Cheetah killed in 2008
It was first noted as a cheetah site in 2008 when an adult male was killed in road incident; then a few months later, a coalition of two males were found to have been poisoned some 70 kilometres away from the first road incident location. This indicated that it was highly likely that the Ravar River valley is a suitable habitat for cheetah. Accordingly, the local Department of the Environment added more lands to the area to protect it. This semi-arid zone is the closest reserve to Pakistan where cheetah were once known to exist. Community-based programs have been also implemented in Ravar, including a conservation education program run by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS).

Camera traps to search for cheetah and leopard
Since early autumn 2012, the ICS' experts have been surveying the area and training game wardens for monitoring skills. However, unlike other cheetah habitats in Iran, it is not an easy area to survey, because it is near the border and there is a high chance of encountering drug smuggling caravans. To avoid this, eight camera traps have been deployed so far and a gradual increase in the number and area of coverage is planned. ICS are hopeful that they will find reliable evidence of the species as well as Persian leopard before the coming spring. 


Thursday, 20 December 2012

Population study reveals fewer than 70 cheetahs remaining Iran


Further research required to determine if population is shrinking
December 2012. According to the latest population surveys in Iran, the cheetah population in Iran does not exceed 70 individuals. There has been some recent controversy in Iran about the cheetah population of Iran, and it has been extensively discussed in the media. On the basis of recent camera trapping efforts ongoing since last winter by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in collaboration with Iranian Department of Environment (DoE), Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Panthera, the most robust conclusion for the population is fewer than 70.

Formerly, it was believed that 70 to 100 cheetahs existed in the country. The question that remains to be answered is if the population has decreased or if it was a small population which was suspected to be larger. Presently, there is no indication of population growth in the country and infrequent occurrence of cheetah families has created serious concerns among Iranian biologists.

More work needed
However, ICS are not able yet to declare a more precise and accurate population range in the country as a combination of habitat modelling with population data are needed to find the full cheetah range in Iran. Presently, various partners are working closely to find exact number of Asiatic cheetahs in the country. ICS are hopeful that in 2013, after finishing systematic camera trapping of cheetah reserves across eastern half of Iran, a more accurate population size could be declared.

Protection
Recently, some environmental activists in the country criticized Iranian Department of Environment on the efficiency of its protection measures and especially after it was stated in the Iranian media that we should consider the cheetah as an extinct species, like Asiatic lion and Caspian tiger, because camera traps have shown that the cheetahs are few.
However, biologists are confident that there are still ways to save the cheetahs and more collaboration with communities should be established to safeguard the last remains of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran.


Monday, 1 October 2012

Leopards can’t change their spots? Cheetahs can

How the cat got his blotches
September 2012. As any cat lover knows, distinct patterns of dark and light hair colour are apparent not only in housecats but also in their wild relatives, from cheetahs to tigers to snow leopards. Researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Stanford University, along with colleagues around the world, have reported new genetic findings that help to understand the molecular basis of these patterns in all felines.
A so-called "mackerel tabby" cat has dark tiger stripes, which coalesce into swirls and blotches in a "classic tabby" cat. Like other periodic natural patterns such as stripes on a zebra or spinal bones and vertebra, the origin of these repetitive structures is an unsolved mystery. "Until now, there's been no obvious biological explanation for cheetah spots or the stripes on tigers, zebras or even the ordinary house cat," said Gregory Barsh, M.D., Ph.D., faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha and emeritus professor of genetics at Stanford University, one of the senior authors of the study.

King cheetah
When comparing sequence differences between striped and blotched domestic cats, the researchers saw the evidence pointed to a gene that they named Taqpep. Blotched cats had specific mutations in both copies of this gene, while striped cats did not. Remarkably, the rare "king cheetah," once thought to be a unique species because of an unusual striped pattern rather than regular spots, also carried a mutation in Taqpep.
Continued: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cheetah-spots.html

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Asiatic cheetahs forced to hunt livestock

Asiatic cheetahs, one of the world's most endangered animals, are forced to eat livestock in areas where their wild prey is in decline, a study has found.

An international team of scientists working in Iran investigated what the animals ate in places where game numbers had been reduced by poachers.

They found the cats had turned to hunting domestic animals because they could not survive on smaller prey.

Safeguarding the cats needs a clamp down on poaching, the scientists found.

The study is published in the Journal of Arid Environments and addresses a conflict that emerged among Iranian conservationists over the Asiatic cheetah, a subspecies of the cheetah that is "critically endangered" according to the IUCN's Red List.

Read on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19705131

Tuesday, 11 September 2012

Cheetah's speed secrets are revealed


A sprinting cheetah is like "a rear-wheel-drive car," say scientists.

Japanese researchers mapped the muscles fibres of the big cat known to accelerate to record-breaking speeds.

By comparing the cheetah's muscles with those of a domestic cat and dog, the team identified the special propulsion power of its hindlimb muscles.

The study is the first to investigate muscle fibre distribution across the whole of the cheetah's body,

The findings are published in the journal Mammalian Biology and examine how the muscle fibres of domestic cats and dogs compare with those of the world's fastest land mammal.

"The study of muscles is indispensable to understand the cheetah's run," said Dr Naomi Wada, the study's co-author and Professor in System Physiology at Yamaguchi University in Japan.

Different types of muscle fibre are suited to different activities, explained Dr Wada.

In all the animals studied, so-called Type I fibres produced a small force output but were resistant to fatigue, making them best suited to maintaining posture and slow walking.


Read more:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19488820

Saturday, 4 August 2012

Iran's cheetah brothers roaming far and wide in search of food and a mate

Cheetah "brothers" Are Now in Ariz
July 2012. Born in Iran's Siahkouh National Park in the spring of 2010, two cheetah siblings are now roaming in the zone known as the ‘ Ariz No Hunting Area' in central Iran. After losing a sibling during their first few months, the cheetahs, accompanied by their mum, walked more than 130 kilometres through vast deserts of central Iran to arrive in Dare Anjir Wildlife Refuge in summer 2011. 

Since last winter, they have dispersed southward and now they are ranging in Ariz, a newly established reserve just south of Dare Anjir. After the brother's became independent from their mum, she departed Dare Anjir and returned 130 kilometres (at least) back to Siahkouh.
In the meantime, the "brothers" who roamed most of Dare Anjir (1750 km2), and occasionally even outside of the reserve boundary during the last winter, were sometimes joined by another probably un-related young male to form a coalition of three males. However, camera traps indicate that their coalition was not stable during winter, and sometimes the new male preferred a solitary life.
Now, they are together most of the time and it seems that they have established their new home range in Ariz, just north of Bafq, because fewer movements have been detected between different camera trap stations. The brothers have now safely negotiated their second year of life and were photo-trapped regularly while urinating at different cheetah sign posts. The story will continue as camera traps are still active across their range to monitor their presence and activities.
Together with lions, cheetahs are the only cats that live in groups. Males, particularly relatives, often join together to form coalition in order to have a better chance of survival, hunting and reproduction.

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