Attempts to figure out why so many elephants are dying in Botswana

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PHOTO CREDIT: PROF. RUDI VAN AARDE

PHOTO CREDIT: PROF. RUDI VAN AARDE

There is world-wide concern about the recent death of 350 elephants in Botswana. Many theories have been put forward and research is currently underway to determine the cause/s. Conditions on the ground, difficulty in accessing laboratories and the sheer size of the problem, for example sampling hundreds of animals before they decompose, are all confounding factors.

Have a look here to see a video presentation by Dr Niall McCann, Conservation Director of National Park Rescue that was hosted by Whale Coast Conservation earlier this month.

Click here to read about a collaborative commentary by University of Pretoria academics and Dr Shahan Azeem of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore.

Measuring man’s impact on the ability of animals to rest in disturbed areas

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Measuring man’s impact on the ability of animals to rest in disturbed areas

Lightweight biologgers with multiple sensors (acoustic, camera, locality, accelerometer etc.) will be developed and deployed initially on domestic animals in order to test their efficacy and collect test data before field deployments in France and southern Africa go ahead.

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Celebrating World Oceans Day 2020

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Celebrating World Oceans Day 2020

With only about 5% of the ocean having been properly explored scientists estimate that more than 90% of ocean species are yet to be discovered, let alone described, and sadly many of these species are almost certainly being driven to extinction. At the Mammal Research Institute we are particularly keen on one specific group of ocean inhabitants – the marine mammals.

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Official opening of shared research lab’s new home supports interdisciplinary research at UP

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Official opening of shared research lab’s new home supports interdisciplinary research at UP

“Interdisciplinary research is a key competency for research-intensive universities such as the University of Pretoria (UP), and we need to enable and amplify interdisciplinary research programmes so that we develop the capacity to respond meaningfully to global change challenges.” These were the words of UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe at the recent official opening of the new home of the Endocrine Research Laboratory (ERL) at UP’s Mammal Research Institute.

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Results of 2019 annual aerial survey for southern right whales

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Results of 2019 annual aerial survey for southern right whales

Between the 30th of September and 5th of October 2019, the University of Pretoria’s Mammal Research Institute, Whale Unit conducted the 40th annual aerial survey of southern right whales. This survey was flown between Nature’s Valley and Muizenberg, using and Airbus EC120B under charter from Silvercoss Helicopters. All encountered whale and dolphin species were recorded, with a special focus on southern right whales. All southern right whales observed along this stretch of coastline were counted, and photographs were taken of the unique callosity pattern on the heads of all individual females with calves as well as all individuals of a brindle grey colouration or white blaze.

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Mammal movements in human-modified landscapes

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Mammal movements in human-modified landscapes

On average, mammals move distances two to three times shorter in human-modified landscapes than they do in the wild. These findings are published in the prestigious journal Science by a large international team lead by researchers at the Senckenberg Nature Research Society and Goethe University Frankfurt. It is the first time this topic has been examined at a global scale and for many different species at once. The authors highlight that these results may have far reaching consequences for ecosystems and in turn, for society.

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