Dr. Hoof Stock

            Lucifer was located in the initial pasture lying down by himself. There was a group of 5 females and 1 calf grazing on the hill coming down from the Juniper Loop. Lucifer joined this herd and sniffed one female. As he sniffed her she would walk forward and he would follow her. This continued for about 3 minutes. He then lost interest and laid down by himself. I left him to find Toby. There were 3 females on the Juniper Loop. Toby was in the clearing before the Lodge with a herd of 11 females. They were all grazing. I saw a mother and calf nursing by the tank by the Safari Camp. Lucifer was laying in the same spot when I returned, but the rest of the herd had wandered off.

–Lauren

Andrea Lewis is  one of the students from University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who came to

Fossil Rim during spring break.  Now she is finished with summer school, she wants to

complete her project and present it at a medical conference in November.  This post is where

we can exchange ideas about interpreting her observations and putting the info in the context

of the broader project.   We look forward to dialogue, Andrea!

 --- Jane

Please go to the PHOTOS page to see where we upload photos to picasa.

Here are instructions:  How to Upload Videos and Pics to Google Maps!!

Adam started this post, to note that a new male calf was tagged July 29, 2008. See Lauren’s notes for more details.  Please add comments here as additional observations are made on this individual.

—Jane

            Today I located a herd of 17 waterbuck in the clearing past the vet clinic. This herd contained Toby and the larger calves. They were grazing and the calves were nursing. They were moving pretty past, apparently browsing for grass. I found the calf that we tagged yesterday and his mother by the safari camp. Lucifer walked up as soon as I discovered them. He sniffed the females and then seemed to lose interest in her. He laid down under a tree for several minutes. The calf was running and playing, then he laid down in the tall grass. Lucifer got up and I followed him through the Juniper Loop. It began to rain, and he found shelter beneath a tree in the main pasture. I believe his is by himself for 2 reasons: 1) His is familiar and comfortable with the pasture, which Douglas was not, and 2) possibly no females are in heat.

–Lauren

            This morning when I entered the park I found a herd of 6 females in the grassy clearing before the Juniper Loop. I also saw a single female and a new calf on the other side of the road. I called Adam and while I waited on him, I looked for Lucifer on the Juniper Loop but didn’t find him. I went back to keep an eye on the new baby. He was hiding in the tall grass next to the herd. Adam caught him and we tagged him 664 Orange. He was a male, his sire was 530 Blue (Lucifer), the dam is unknown. His temperature was 104.8 degrees, pulse 84, and respiration 22. He weighed 31 pounds and was born on July 25, 2008. He was a feisty little guy who kept kicking us. When he started yelping, a big group of about 9 waterbuck came running out of the woods to check on the commotion. This group contained Crooked Tail and the other calves. After we were finished they went to sniff out the spot where Adam’s truck was parked. The calf and his mother headed for the hills after all of that excitement. After the rest of the herd checked everything out, they continued grazing. I went to look for Lucifer and found him in the clearing before the creek by the Lodge. He was coming down out of the trees to the east, down from the gravel pit. He was by himself. The newly tagged calf and his mother were running up from the creek from the west. There were two other females that were running up alongside of the pair. They seemed to be checking on the calf. The pair seemed pretty disturbed, and they ran into the woods, to the north. Lucifer watched them run into the trees, but remained grazing by himself. About thirty minutes later he ventured into the trees, following after the other waterbuck.

–Lauren

When I arrived in the park I found a herd of 7 waterbuck by the vet clinic. Both Toby and Lucifer were in this herd. They all grazed for a while. Lucifer showed interest in one female (no tag). He sniffed her and rubbed his face against her side. She did likewise. He mounted her two times. Both mounts were brief; nothing occurred. He returned to grazing and tried to mount him. I thought that could have been a sign that she was in standing heat. They wandered a little further behind the oak trees and continued grazing. He grazed for quite a while and then followed the females. He seemed interested in all of them, but very briefly mounted one. He then followed one female into the trees. It was about 75 degrees this morning, but it is expected to reach well into the 100’s today. The ground is dry, but the grass is not completely dead. The grass is a light yellow. There is a fair amount of green growth below the grass.

–Lauren

            When I came into the park this morning I saw 2 female waterbuck in the pasture by the vet clinic. I wondered why they were alone. I found a herd of 13 plus Toby and Lucifer in the front pasture by the Lodge. Lucifer was grazing by himself. Toby was part of the herd, and he did not ever really interact with Lucifer. Toby seems to be acting more like a female now that Lucifer is back. He exhibited more male-like qualities when Douglas was in the herd. Lucifer never showed any interest in the females while I was observing, but that does not mean that he did not before I got there. Lucifer did not show any aggression towards Toby either. They were all peacefully grazing as they made their way into the trees. Today has been a very hot day.

–Lauren

I could not find Lucifer anywhere this morning. I found a herd of 17 females plus Toby by the vet clinic. Toby appeared to be interacting normally with the females, simply grazing. I also found two adult females, Crooked Tail, and the new baby on the Juniper Loop. There was no sight of Lucifer. I drove around the pasture for about an hour and never found him. I believe that he was off by himself or maybe with only one or two other females. It was about 75 degrees outside, breezy, and dry. There is still a good amount of forage, but it is starting to get quite dry, as normal for this time of year.

–Lauren

This morning I located Douglas on the juniper Loop. We met at the vet clinic and gathered our materials. We proceeded to the herd and successfully tranquilized Douglas. We transferred him to the clinic, put him in a holding pen, and gave him reversals. We monitored him until he was safely back on his feet. Adam turned Lucifer out and I followed him to the herd that was still at the Juniper Loop. When Lucifer arrived into the herd of females, the females all tried to run away. He would sniff the females and they would run off. After a few minutes the females became comfortable with him and he became more comfortable as well. He showed interest in all of the females and sniffed every female he was near. He sniffed one female and then chased her a small distance. Both lost interest and returned to the herd. He began to graze a little bit and ate some feed. He acknowledged Crooked Tail, but he did not threaten him or anything. He did threaten a deer and ran the deer off. He did not threaten any of the other babies either. He continued feeding and grazing. He sniffed another female and then slowly followed the herd into the trees. Although he showed interest in all of the females and sniffed them, he never did a foreleg kick or mounted any of the females. I tried driving around the other side of the trees, but I never caught sight of them again. I also never caught sight of Toby.

–Lauren

This morning when I entered the park I found a lone female waterbuck by the vet clinic. She had a yellow tag but I could not read the number. When I drove up she began to run off towards the woods. I have no idea why she was by herself. I found a herd of 13 by the Lodge that included Douglas, Toby, and Crooked Tail. I saw Crooked Tail grazing next to a female that was about his size and I wondered if she was Puffy Butt. I got them on video. Douglas was grazing by himself, and when he joined the herd he and Toby knocked horns. Douglas surrendered and went back to grazing. Both males went into the trees by the creek next to the lodge. The females continued grazing.

–Lauren