Bill,

Apologies if this has already been mentioned (a quick search didn't reveal it), but I've just had my attention drawn to a couple of pdf files on the Wilderness site, at least one of which would interest you: 1) Duba lion study; and 2) Rhino boma management. Look like interesting reading.

John

ttt

Thanks John! Sorry I missed this the first time you posted. You are right, I am very interested and just printed them off for reading when I can get to it.

There's also a blurb there about a cheetah rescue that I'm sure Hari would enjoy.

http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/ne...item_id=393533

Bill,

The cheetah rescue is a great story! Makes one wonder, though, just how many wild animals are not rescued

I wonder if you, as a predator specialist, will find more interest in the lion study than the rhino boma study. As a species to watch in the wild, the lion interests me more, but I found the rhino boma study the more interesting of the two projects because it was 'new' information. The lion prey findings were what I would expect, if not already know. Do you know what I mean?

John

Thanks....i saw both of them last night....the cheetah is a good story. Good that they were able to help the animal, since, the fence was what caused the animal it's issues.....

John: I totally agree with you, I found the Rhino boma details much more interesting. As you say the Duba lions paper really was exactly what you would expect. I still enjoyed reading it but it is as simple as a study can be with very intuitive findings.

I'm really surprised they have as much human contact as they do at the rhino boma. While the care level is very difficult I'd say reintroducing rhino has to be one of the easiest species to succeed with since they are herbivores and basically cannot be preyed on as adults. Those food requirements and disease worries though while captive are tough.

While at Mombo I saw that Serondela that escaped, if I'm correct he is the most enormous bull in Botswana -- an absolute monster but regal of course. We were lucky to see 3 of the original 15 white rhinos released.

Bill-"I'm really surprised they have as much human contact as they do at the rhino boma."

I have to admit I was a little surprised, but perhaps there is no choice. Our local open-range zoo, which has started breeding cheetahs in the past few years, is very careful about human contact, even though it is breeding the animals for other zoos and not for return to the wild. Of course, I guess the possibility of feline disease from domestic cats has to be guarded against (can such things be transmitted on human clothing?)

John

John: no doubt there is a sort of amount of contact that I don't think they can avoid but things like scratching behind their ears through the fence is not necessary. The expense of fencing may be a limiting factor but it would be a lot better to give them a water wallow area too than have humans hosing them down. If you really want to acclimate them you want as much natural behavior and as little contact as possible.

Diseases on clothes can be a big problem, in some breeding facilities you have to change into sterile clothes to enter. A biologist carried canine distemper on his shoes wiping out the last known black-footed ferret colony in the 1970's, luckily one more colony was found a few years later.