Managing Correspondent: Benjamin Andreone Considering that elk are hunted by over a dozen species at Yellowstone, future studies incorporating GPS data from even more predators could shed further light on the complexities of how many elk manage to stay off the daily menu. This is in contrast to the long-standing idea that avoidance of one predator by a prey species increases its exposure to other predators. While the conclusions of this research may seem simplistic, it is one of the first studies directly supporting the “vacant domain hypothesis”-the notion that prey avoid multiple predators simultaneously by inhabiting various locations at times when predators are least active. Interestingly, surviving elk took advantage of these patterns by specifically avoiding the hunting domains of both predators at the appropriate times of day, allowing them to thrive despite the near constant threat of being hunted.
They first discovered the predator species had distinct hunting behaviors wolves hunted primarily in grassy areas during morning and evening hours, while cougars stuck to forested areas and preferred to hunt at night. In the present study, a team of ecologists from Utah State University gathered GPS data from several radio-collared animal species within Yellowstone: wolves, cougars, surviving elk, and elk that were killed by wolves and cougars. This thrilling adventure features Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. Past research on predator-prey relationships in the wild has tended to focus on only one species from each group, like the famous lynx-snowshoe hare study system. Director Steven Spielbergs Jurassic Park masterpiece is one of the most successful films in worldwide box office history and remains a compelling and spectacular experience. While the secrets to elk survival have remained largely mysterious, scientists have now uncovered new insight into how they simultaneously minimize the threat of multiple predator species.
On top of that, elk are prey for at least 15 predator species and account for approximately 90% of all winter-time wolf kills. As one of the park’s most abundant species, elk must compete with their fellow inhabitants for food, shelter, and other resources. Learn more about the lesser know predators and carnivores of Kruger National Park.Life can be hard when you are an elk living in Yellowstone National Park.
They are found throughout the Park, but are more easily seen in the game-rich grasslands of central and south-eastern Kruger. The dominant large mammal predators in Kruger are lions, hyaenas, leopards, cheetah and wild dogs, each of which occupy slightly different habitats or ecological niches that are suited to their food acquisition needs. Because there was more food than the parents could consume, carnivore offspring could remain part of the family unit for a longer time, thereby increasing their chances of survival. How the surplus was disposed created hierarchies and strengthened social bonds. The scavengers of the land-from coyotes to crows, to eagles-use this fuel and the cycle begins all over again. But even when elk die of starvation, their carcasses are used. Predators, in turn, relied more on collaborative hunting to generate a surplus of food. Today, seven predators-wolves, black bears, grizzly bears, coyotes, mountain lions, man and, most important, weather-account for elk mortality. This led to the arrival of many new species of animals, particularly large herds of grazers that depended on safety in numbers rather than their ability to hide from predators. Then, the Venus flytrap secretes a digestive fluid that helps the plant absorb nutrients from the trapped insect. When a fly or ant brushes against one of the leaf ’s trigger hairs two times, the plant folds its leaf quickly, trapping the prey inside. These carnivores evolved from a mongoose-like ancestor some 40 million years ago and include in their lineage domestic dogs and cats.Ĭarnivores became particularly dominant in Africa during the past 3 million years as climate changes led to the development of large swathes of savanna grassland over the continent. The plant ’s trap is a single large leaf with trigger hairs. Kruger Park is probably most famous for its large predators and carnivores, the big flesh-eating cats (lion, leopard and cheetah) and dogs (hyaena and wild dogs).