Comments(3) The highlight today was watching Crooked Tail interact with a young male and calf….with a group of five north of the Lodge in the cleared juniper area….more later
Comments(1) The highlight was a tremendous thunderstorm Saturday afternoon with rainbows in the evening! During the storm, the waterbuck huddled under trees. When the rain slowed down, they grazed, occasionally shaking water droplets off their heads.
At noon on Saturday, Lucifer (M530B) was on the Juniper Loop and walked into the woods by the NW shed. By 1530, he was between the Lodge and the creek, in the general area of females (total of 14). He remained in that general area until he crossed over to the Juniper Loop on Sunday morning (by 9 am). No food was delivered while I was watching on Sunday. He drank from the rain water in the pellet troughs and he grazed with other species (mostly sable) on the pasture east of Juniper Loop. No females appeared on Juniper Loop.
Lucifer checked out a few females very briefly and did not persist in following them. He briefly escalated with an addax, who de-escalated. He watched addax. He was not following the female that gave birth on 7/28. She was still bagged up.
Although M664O was with the rest of the group prior to the rainstorm, he was with the male calf and a female SW of the Lodge Road (by the Creek) Saturday evening and Sunday morning. I saw no interactions between Lucifer and the young males (M664O is a yearling with horns about 6-10 inches, and M91′F61 was born in 4/09 so is about 3-4 months with horn buds 2-3 inches).
Comments(1) This is the day that the males were switched….Renee will fill in the details later
Comments(0) Sat, 7/11/09
A grey fox crossed the road on my way in this morning, at daybreak!
Shortly after daybreak, the waterbuck females gathered on the Juniper Loop, then crossed over to Turtle Pond. They drank and grazed near the pond. It is very low, yet there is green vegetation around it. I noted this because I have never seen the waterbuck at that pond. The Gemsbock, Addax and fallow deer each separately also gathered there later in the day. The female waterbuck passed on over to the meadow south of the creek, where they grazed near the northeast shed. Later in the day they split into two groups, both on the lodge side of the creek (see details below). One group was southwest of the road to the lodge (SW group), and moved parallel to the road near dusk. The other group was northeast of the swimming pool (NE group) and moved northeast.
Lucifer (M530B) spent the morning near the food troughs on the Juniper Loop, disappeared around 1 pm and by evening was grazing near the NE group of females. He was clearly not herding them, merely moving slowly in their direction while grazing. When the females moved out of view, he approached the two who were remaining (FNT & M91). After interacting with M91 (see below) Lucifer did not follow these two and drifted over in the direction of the other group when I left at dark.
In the morning, the youngest (4-mo) male calf (M91) nursed from Slit-ear (F61Y). Although he suckled for only 3 minutes, the interaction continued for 6 minutes (videoed). He bumped her udder repeatedly and she darted away from him, using much the same quality of movement as when a female is evading a courting male. However, she kept standing for him and he kept trying to gain access. Finally she walked away. He held his head low near her udder, in a similar stance to the way Toby (C-male) used to approach Lucifer (V-male).
At the end of the day Slit-ear’s calf (M91) was separated from his mother, she was in the southwest group of females and he was following an untagged female initially in the northeast group. The two of them (M91 & FNT) were separated from the NE group when they were grazing and did not notice the other females move off. The southwestern group included the juvenile male (M664O), F58Y, F6?Y, F63Y, F61Y(Slit-ear), F549R and 3 untagged females. I watched an untagged female followed by F59Y moving in their direction on the other side of the creek. The northeastern group included F64Y (backwards tag), juvenile F672Y, F545B, calf M91, and 5 FNT (9 total). Total count was 9 + 9 + 2 + Lucifer = 21 waterbuck.
M91 interacted briefly with Lucifer, approaching him with horizontal neck and head tossing repeatedly. Lucifer reached out to M91 as if to sniff his side, and the calf side-stepped quickly, as if nervous. After a slight horn dip from Lucifer, the calf circled behind Lucifer and sniffed his rear. Then both moved on as if ignoring each other.
Lucifer did not move with the females at all during the morning or midday. He was grazing north of Safari Camp, and moving toward Juniper Loop. I took one video sample before losing him. When I finally picked him up again, he was resting north of the Cut-through shed on Juniper Loop. Several times, he stood or moved away from approaching gemsbock. He licked an empty trough and moved over to the edge of the woods where he could see the feed truck approach. He was able to feed at two troughs, in between displacements. In the context of food pellets, he stands up to addax, but de-escalates with Gemsbok and completely avoids Sable. He may tolerate one fallow buck at the trough, but avoids several. In the evening, he displaced Addax twice, near the Lodge, not in the context of pellets. He approached the Addax directly, no horn contact, the Addax moved away.
Sun 7/12/09
At daybreak, I drove into the retirement pasture and parked near the troughs. At first only 2 sable were visible grazing in the middle of the pasture. Over the next hour, I observed the following: 4 addra, 2 vicuna (+ 1 lama?), 2 zebra (Hardeman’s), 3 fallow deer, 2 wildebeest, 1 red deer (F159R), 2 M white-tail, M664Y +3 scimitar-horned oryx, 2 arabian oryx, 3 addax + M575G (speckled grey).
Crooked tail (M624Y) appeared in the last 8 minutes, grazing alone near the gate. As a yearling, his horns are now about 12 inches long. The intact male waterbuck (M42O), was in a separate enclosure
—Jane
Comments(1) We had some concerns about whether 42 yellow was getting the opportunity to breed with 55 yellow keeping him away from the herd. There is proof in the field that he had at least some opportunity. 530 Blue was vasectomized 11 sept 07. There is a chance of producing semen for about three months post vasectomy and a remote possibility up to 6 months. Even at the far end of that spectrum, 530 blue would have been out of that time line. 530 Blue was removed from the herd on 6 May 2008 and 42 yellow was introduced 8 may 2008 and stayed with the herd until 10 July 08. Based on the expected gestation of waterbuck at about 8.5-9 months, and this calf being born on or about 10 march 2009, his conception was after 42 yellow was in the herd.
Comments(0) The males were switched on July 10, 2008. See Field Notes for details
Comments(0) The intact male that had been in quarantine was introduced. See fieldnotes for details.
6 Subadults documented as present
2 Adult males: Toby, Douglas (42Y)
15 Adult females: F56Y (lost tag); F57Y, F58Y, F59Y, F61Y (Slitear), F62Y, F63Y, F64Y; “Natural notch”, 6 unmarked
Comments(0) Lucifer was removed so that the new intact male could be put in with the herd, to synchronize estrus in the females and sire calves to be born in January-February.
6 Subadults documented as present
1 Adult male (castrated): Toby
15 Adult females: F56Y (lost tag); F57Y, F58Y, F59Y, F61Y (Slitear), F62Y, F63Y, F64Y; “Natural notch”, 6 unmarked
Comments(0) 5 Subadults documented as present
2 Adult males: ISIS12023; ISIS 12021
15 Adult females: F56Y (lost tag); F57Y, F58Y, F59Y, F61Y (Slitear), F62Y, F63Y, F64Y; “Natural notch”, 6 unmarked
Jane & Michael
Comments(3) 1/26/2008 cf. Jane Packard & Renee Jones
6 Subadults documented as present
2 Adult males: ISIS12023; ISIS 12021
15 Adult females: F56Y (lost tag); F57Y, F58Y, F59Y, F61Y (Slitear), F62Y, F63Y, F64Y; “Natural notch”, 6 unmarked