| rift valley fever virus among wild ruminants, etosha national park, namibia, 2011. | after a may 2011 outbreak of rift valley fever among livestock northeast of etosha national park, namibia, wild ruminants in the park were tested for the virus. antibodies were detected in springbok, wildebeest, and black-faced impala, and viral rna was detected in springbok. seroprevalence was high, and immune response was long lasting. | 2016 | 26692385 |
| dust-bathing behaviors of african herbivores and the potential risk of inhalational anthrax. | : anthrax in herbivorous wildlife and livestock is generally assumed to be transmitted via ingestion or inhalation of bacillus anthracis spores. although recent studies have highlighted the importance of the ingestion route for anthrax transmission, little is known about the inhalational route in natural systems. dust bathing could aerosolize soilborne pathogens such as b. anthracis, exposing dust-bathing individuals to inhalational infections. we investigated the potential role of dust bathing ... | 2018 | 29053428 |
| annual mass drownings of the serengeti wildebeest migration influence nutrient cycling and storage in the mara river. | the annual migration of ∼1.2 million wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) through the serengeti mara ecosystem is the largest remaining overland migration in the world. one of the most iconic portions of their migration is crossing of the mara river, during which thousands drown annually. these mass drownings have been noted, but their frequency, size, and impact on aquatic ecosystems have not been quantified. here, we estimate the frequency and size of mass drownings in the mara river and model t ... | 2017 | 28630330 |
| electroejaculation, semen characteristics and semen preservation of the brindled gnu. | | 1976 | 1271362 |
| species-specific differences in toxoplasma gondii, neospora caninum and besnoitia besnoiti seroprevalence in namibian wildlife. | knowledge about parasitic infections is crucial information for animal health, particularly of free-ranging species that might come into contact with livestock and humans. | 2020 | 31915056 |
| assessing blue wildebeests' vigilance, grouping and foraging responses to perceived predation risk using playback experiments. | two aspects of reactive antipredator behaviour are still unclear for ungulates. first, when there is a direct predation threat, how do prey balance antipredator and social vigilance to learn a predator's location and assess the risk? second, how do an individual's group and environment affect its responses? we tested the responses of adult females in 101 groups of wildebeest to playbacks of lion roars or car noises in etosha national park, namibia. we analysed how the times they spent in differe ... | 2019 | 31121214 |
| war-induced collapse and asymmetric recovery of large-mammal populations in gorongosa national park, mozambique. | how do large-mammal communities reassemble after being pushed to the brink of extinction? few data are available to answer this question, as it is rarely possible to document both the decline and recovery of wildlife populations. here we present the first in-depth quantitative account of war-induced collapse and postwar recovery in a diverse assemblage of large herbivores. in mozambique's gorongosa national park, we assembled data from 15 aerial wildlife counts conducted before (1968-1972) and a ... | 2019 | 30865663 |
| terrestrial mammalian wildlife responses to unmanned aerial systems approaches. | unmanned aerial systems (uas) are increasingly being used recreationally, commercially and for wildlife research, but very few studies have quantified terrestrial mammalian reactions to uas approaches. we used two vertical take-off and landing (vtol) uas to approach seven herbivore species in the moremi game reserve, botswana, after securing the relevant permissions. we recorded responses to 103 vertical and 120 horizontal approaches, the latter from three altitudes above ground level (agl). we ... | 2019 | 30765800 |
| postrelease monitoring habitat selection by reintroduced burchell's zebra and blue wildebeest in southern mozambique. | in africa, reintroduction of wild animal species to conservation areas is a common practice, for the recovery or restoration of populations. effective monitoring of reintroduced species requires understanding of basic ecological requirements such as habitat selection of these species in the new environment. therefore, the present study investigated the habitat selection of zebra and wildebeest following their reintroduction into maputo special reserve, south mozambique, and we use binary logisti ... | 2019 | 31236235 |
| the host-specificity of theileria sp. (sable) and theileria sp. (sable-like) in african bovidae and detection of novel theileria in antelope and giraffe. | tick-borne diseases caused by theileria are of economic importance in domestic and wildlife ruminants. the majority of theileria infects a limited number of host species, supporting the concept of host specificity. however, some theileria seem to be generalists challenging the host specificity paradigm, such as theileria sp. (sable) reported from various vertebrate hosts, including african buffalo, cattle, dogs and different antelope species. we tested the hypothesis that t. sp. (sable) uses bov ... | 2020 | 31566155 |
| the development of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms in blue wildebeest using the dartseq platform. | blue wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus taurinus) are economically important antelope that are widely utilised in the south african wildlife industry. however, very few genomic resources are available for blue wildebeest that can assist in breeding management and facilitate research. this study aimed to develop a set of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) markers for blue wildebeest. the dartseq genotyping platform, commonly used in polyploid plant species, was selected for snp disco ... | 2020 | 32574831 |
| remarkable muscles, remarkable locomotion in desert-dwelling wildebeest. | large mammals that live in arid and/or desert environments can cope with seasonal and local variations in rainfall, food and climate1 by moving long distances, often without reliable water or food en route. the capacity of an animal for this long-distance travel is substantially dependent on the rate of energy utilization and thus heat production during locomotion-the cost of transport2-4. the terrestrial cost of transport is much higher than for flying (7.5 times) and swimming (20 times)4. terr ... | 2018 | 30356212 |
| xenotransfusion with packed bovine red blood cells to a wildebeest calf (connochaetes taurinus). | a 4-month-old female blue wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) was presented for bilateral pelvic limb fracture repair. clinical examination under anaesthesia revealed a water-hammer pulse and a haematocrit of 0.13. a xenotransfusion was performed using bovine (bos taurus) erythrocytes because of inability to acquire a wildebeest donor. clinical parameters improved following transfusion and the post-operative haematocrit value was 0.31. the wildebeest remained physiologically stable with a gradual ... | 2018 | 30326712 |
| large herbivore conservation in a changing world: surface water provision and adaptability allow wildebeest to persist after collapse of long-range movements. | large herbivores, particularly wide-ranging species, are extensively impacted by land use transformation and other anthropogenic barriers to movement. the adaptability of a species is, therefore, crucial to determining whether populations can persist in ever smaller subsets of their historical home ranges. access to water, by drinking or from forage moisture, is an essential requirement, and surface water provision is thus a long-established, although controversial, conservation practice. in the ... | 2020 | 32069369 |
| subspecific identity and a comparison of genetic diversity between wild and ex situ wildebeest. | the original north american ex situ wildebeest population was believed to originate from the white-bearded wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus albojubatus), which is both morphologically distinct and geographically separated from the brindled wildebeest (c. t. taurinus). however, after an import of wildebeest into north america in 2001, managers have suspected that white-bearded and brindled wildebeest were mixed in herds at multiple institutions. we sequenced the mitochondrial control region (d-l ... | 2020 | 31904139 |
| how free-ranging ungulates with differing water dependencies cope with seasonal variation in temperature and aridity. | large mammals respond to seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation by behavioural and physiological flexibility. these responses are likely to differ between species with differing water dependencies. we used biologgers to contrast the seasonal differences in activity patterns, microclimate selection, distance to potential water source and body temperature of the water-independent gemsbok (oryx gazella gazella) and water-dependent blue wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus), free-living in t ... | 2019 | 31723430 |
| a preliminary description of the sleep-related neural systems in the brain of the blue wildebeest, connochaetes taurinus. | the current study provides a detailed qualitative description of the organization of the cholinergic, catecholaminergic, serotonergic, orexinergic, and gabaergic sleep-related systems in the brain of the blue wildebeest (connocheates taurinus), along with a quantitative analysis of the pontine cholinergic and noradrenergic neurons, and the hypothalamic orexinergic neurons. the aim of this study was to compare the nuclear organization of these systems to other mammalian species and specifically t ... | 2020 | 31513360 |
| placentation in the blue wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus). | the wildebeest is a populous african ungulate, but despite its wide distribution within that continent few reports exist on the structure and endocrine functions of its placenta. | 2019 | 31174626 |
| biologging subcutaneous temperatures to detect orientation to solar radiation remotely in savanna antelope. | observations of animal thermoregulatory behavior are labor-intensive, and human presence may disturb the normal behavior of the animal. therefore, we investigated whether a remote biologging technique could be used to detect orientation to solar radiation in savanna antelope. we predicted that when a mammal was orientated perpendicular to solar radiation, the subcutaneous temperature on the side of the body facing the sun would be greater than that on the opposite side, whereas when the mammal w ... | 2019 | 31033258 |
| the prevalence of non-o157:h7 shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (stec) in namibian game meat. | large game animals play an important role as carriers and transmitters of o157:h7 and non-o157:h7 shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (stec) in nature. fresh meat obtained from game animals has been identified as an important source of food-borne stec infections. the aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of the top 6 non-o157 stec strains (serogroups o26, o45, o103, o111, o121, and o145) in namibian game meat based on testing for stx, eae, and o-group-specific genes. meat samples fr ... | 2018 | 30574994 |
| isolation and characterization of species-specific microsatellite markers for blue and black wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus and c. gnou). | the bluewildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) is distributed throughout southern and east africa while the black wildebeest (connochaetes gnou) is endemic to south africa and was driven to near extinction in the early 1900s due to hunting pressure and disease outbreaks. extensive translocation of both species throughout south africa is threatening the genetic integrity of blue and blackwilde beest. to effectively manage these species, genetic tools that can be used to detect hybrid individuals, ide ... | 2018 | 30574875 |
| melanoma in golden and king wildebeests ( connochaetes taurinus). | pigmentation of the skin is a crucial component in the pathogenesis of melanocytic neoplasms and other skin-related tumors, as melanin is known to function in both the absorbance of ultraviolet radiation and as an antioxidant. very limited information exists regarding the incidence and metastatic potential of neoplastic conditions of the skin in game animals, especially wildebeests, relative to domestic animals. four cases of cutaneous melanoma in color-variant golden and king wildebeests ( conn ... | 2018 | 29517449 |
| a practical guideline to remote biopsy darting of wildebeests for genetic sampling. | the use of biopsy darts for remote collection of tissue samples from free-ranging terrestrial and aquatic animal species has gained popularity in the recent past. the success of darting is very important since scientists may not have many chances to re-dart the same animal, especially with the free-ranging elusive wildlife species. we used wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) as a model to estimate the optimum shooting distance, pressure and the shot part of the body through which a researcher can ... | 2016 | 30255036 |
| phylogeography of three closely related african bovids (tribe alcelaphini). | the phylogeography of three species of african bovids, the hartebeest (alcelaphus buselaphus), the topi (damaliscus lunatus), and the wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus), is inferred from sequence variation of 345 sequences at the control region (d-loop) of the mtdna. the three species are closely related (tribe alcelaphini) and share similar habitat requirements. moreover, their former distribution extended over africa, as a probable result of the expansion of open grassland on the continent dur ... | 1999 | 10605114 |
| the influence of a semi-arid sub-catchment on suspended sediments in the mara river, kenya. | the mara river basin in east africa is a trans-boundary basin of international significance experiencing excessive levels of sediment loads. sediment levels in this river are extremely high (turbidities as high as 6,000 ntu) and appear to be increasing over time. large wildlife populations, unregulated livestock grazing, and agricultural land conversion are all potential factors increasing sediment loads in the semi-arid portion of the basin. the basin is well-known for its annual wildebeest (co ... | 2018 | 29420624 |
| molecular detection and characterization of theileria infecting wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) in the maasai mara national reserve, kenya. | theileria is a genus of tick-borne protozoan that is globally widespread and infects nearly all ungulates in which they cause either latent infection or lethal disease. wild animals are considered reservoir hosts of many species of theileria and their diversity in wildlife species is increasingly becoming of interest. the molecular characterization and identification of theileria infecting wildlife has been studied in a few species including buffalo, which are considered reservoir host for theil ... | 2015 | 26295263 |