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Hyena and Massai | Photo: Oliver Höner, Leibniz-IZW

Pastoralists herding their livestock through the territories of spotted hyena clans along dedicated paths during daytime do not reduce the reproductive performance of hyena clans, nor elevate the physiological ‘stress’ of spotted hyenas.

This is the result of a new study led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). The scientists analysed 24 years of demographic and physiological data from eight spotted hyena clans – two of which were exposed to activities by pastoralists. The activities of pastoralists were predictable, diurnal and did not disrupt important behaviours in the mostly nocturnal hyenas. This may have allowed the population to perform well, the scientists suggest. The open access paper is published in the scientific journal “Journal of Animal Ecology”.

Human activities can strongly affect wildlife but the effects can vary greatly, depending on the type of activity and the characteristics of the wildlife species involved. To promote human-wildlife coexistence, it is therefore important to assess which activities are sustainable for a given species. Most past research has documented major changes in the behavioural response of such species to human activities, but did not examine whether such changes are indicative of the Darwinian fitness of wildlife (in terms of its survival and reproductive success) or physiological effects such as “stress” or allostatic load, which are much more relevant to conservation.

“Acquiring the long-term data for such research – especially on large, group-living carnivores, which may be particularly conflict-prone – is not easy because of the enormous financial and temporal demands involved. We assessed for the first time the Darwinian fitness and the physiological effects of a common human activity – livestock herding – in light of the biology and social system of our wildlife species”, explains first author Arjun Dheer, doctoral student at the Leibniz-IZW.

The investigation was conducted on eight clans of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) living in the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Tanzania. “Livestock grazing and using mineral licks occurred predictably on a near-daily basis within the territories of two of our eight study clans between 1996 and 2016”, adds Dheer. This created a natural experiment of exposed and unexposed clans which the scientists exploited. “We tested whether the hyenas of the exposed clans had fewer surviving offspring than the unexposed hyenas and whether the herding activities increased the physiological ‘stress’ of the hyenas”, explains Dr Oliver Höner (Leibniz-IZW), head of the Ngorongoro Hyena Project and senior author of the paper.

To assess the fitness effects, the scientists used 24 years of detailed demographic data from the eight clans and to estimate physiological stress, they measured the concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites (fGMC) in 975 faeces from 475 hyenas. The team also accounted for the effects of additional ecological parameters such as disease outbreaks and the abundance of African lions (Panthera leo), the hyenas’ main competitor, and prey.

The main result was that hyena clans exposed to Maasai pastoralists moving through their territory with their livestock had similar juvenile recruitment and fGMC levels as unexposed clans. “Our results suggest that the hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater coped well with daytime pastoralism”, explains Dheer. A likely explanation for the lack of detectable effect on hyenas is that the activity was predictable and minimally disruptive because it occurred during daytime.

“Hyenas are mostly nocturnal when it comes to critical behaviours such as hunting”, explains Höner. Even if pastoralist activities forced other critical hyena behaviours such as the nursing of young cubs into nighttime, it might not have been too much of an adjustment for them to make. “Spotted hyenas are behaviourally flexible. In other areas, they were observed to move their cubs to dens further away from the paths that pastoralists used, or to nurse more at night”, Höner says.

The authors caution that such results should not be extrapolated in uncritical fashion. “In areas where pastoralism is more intense and environmental conditions such as the abundance of wild prey are less favourable than in the Ngorongoro Crater, pastoralist activities may well have a significant detrimental effect even on a behaviourally highly flexible species such as the spotted hyena”, explains Höner. “Our investigation highlights the need to develop evidence-based coexistence strategies within a local context to benefit both stakeholders and wildlife.

It also underscores the importance of interpreting the effects of human activity in light of the socio-ecology of the species of conservation interest”, concludes Victoria Shayo (Head, Department of Wildlife and Rangeland Management, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority). Additional scientific analyses that cover a variety of anthropogenic activities and species – and that measure effects on fitness and physiology – will be conducive to promoting human-wildlife coexistence.  IZW

  • Former Captain Victor Wanyama in action for the Harambee Stars against Ghana in 2019 TWITTER HARAMBEE STARS 
  • Retired Harambee Stars captain and CF Montreal midfielder, Victor Wanyama elicited mixed reactions after he announced that he would be leaving the Major League Soccer (MLS) side at the end of the season. 

    Wanyama will part ways with CF Montreal in December after his contract expires, with no signs of extensions in the works. 

    This will mark Wanyama's two-year deal at the club coming to a close with five goals and seven assists in 79 appearances. 

    Current Club CF Montreal midfielder, Victor Wanyama plays FIFA at his home.
    Current Club CF Montreal midfielder, Victor Wanyama plays FIFA at his home.
    THE STANDARD
     

    Salary

    According to MLS official site, Wanyama earns Ksh24 million a month, totalling to Ksh290,280,000 annually. The player also pockets an annual guaranteed compensation rising to Ksh373, 937,123.  

    The annual guaranteed compensation comprises a player's base salary, all signing and guaranteed bonuses annualized over the term of the player's contract, inclusive of marketing bonus and agent's fees. 

    Assets

    Wanyama, who is no stranger to success, has amassed close to two decades in professional football with his career kicking off in the Kenya Premier League (KPL). Over the years, he has accumulated immense wealth from playing in top leagues. 

    In 2018, he toured Kenya with a customised Volkswagen Crafter CR53 Maxi. The luxurious vehicle was estimated to cost an average of Ksh25 million with features such as interior and exterior CCTV cameras, a play station, rotating seats, a fridge, 3D TV screens and a coffeemaker. 

    Wanyama also boasts of a Ksh15 million Range Rover Sport, as well as a 2017 Bentley model that is estimated to cost around Ksh20 million.

    Reports indicate that during his tenure at Tottenham Hostpur, Wanyama bought several properties in Kenya and a Ksh60 million property in the United Kingdom. In 2018 during a season's break, he had revealed his plans of purchasing a luxury house in Zanzibar but the plans were quashed after the EPL season resumed.  

    In addition, Wanyama owns a world-class academy in Busia called Victor Wanyama Foundation- which focuses on sports, education, health and wildlife.

    Aside from sports activities, the foundation sponsors needy students through scholarships, creates job opportunities and sensitizes people on the protection of wildlife threatened by illegal trade. 

    Mathare residents sanitizing their hands in a past event by the Victor Wanyama Foundation, on the 27th March 2020.
    Mathare residents sanitizing their hands in a past event by the Victor Wanyama Foundation at Kiboro Primary School, on the 27th March 2020.
    KENYANS.CO.KE
     
Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni PHOTO/Courtesy
 

Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has apologized to Kenyans and the Kenyan government following a flurry of inflammatory tweets by his son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

The long-serving Head of State appealed to Kenyans in a statement posted on his Twitter account to forgive the Ugandan nation at large for the controversial tweets posted by his army son. 

Museveni posited that it is imprudent for public officers, either serving in the military or civil service, to make adverse comments or appear to interfere with the internal affairs of neighbouring countries.

"I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country. It is not correct for Public officers, be they civilian or military, to comment or interfere in any way, in the internal affairs of brother countries," his statement read in part. 

Museveni noted that criticism or opinions on the political ongoings in a brother nation can be formally voiced at the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions among presidents at EAC and AU fora.

"The only available legitimate forum is the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions among us or EAC and AU fora –not public comments," he added.

President Museveni further clarified why he promoted General Muhoozi to a higher military rank amidst the controversy. He stated that even though the first son committed a mistake, his positive contribution to the military outweighs the wrong.

General Muhoozi was yesterday dropped as the Commander of Uganda’s Land Forces. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of a full general and also retained as the Senior Presidential Advisor in charge of Special Operations. 

"Why, then, promoted him to full General after these comments? This is because this mistake is one aspect where he has acted negatively as a Public officer. There are, however, many other positive contributions the General has made and can still make. This is a time-tested formula –discourage the negative and encourage the positive. Very sorry, ndugu zetu Wakenya. Also sorry to the Ugandans who could have been annoyed by one of their officials," the statement read further. By Osoro Jnr, K24

 

The scene of the mass shooting in Thailand - ViralPress© ViralPress

 

At least 31 people have been killed in a mass shooting at a children's nursery in Thailand.

 

Victims included 23 children, police said in a statement, adding that the gunman was an ex-police officer in the northeastern  Nong Bua Lam Phu province.

The attacker is said to have stormed the nursery with a gun and a knife before carrying out his attack and going on the run. 

A manhunt was launched, but the assailant later killed himself.  

The prime minister had alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit, a government spokesperson said.

The rate of gun ownership in Thailand is high compared with some other countries in the region but official figures do not include huge numbers of illegal weapons, many of which have been brought in across porous borders over the years from strife-torn neighbours.

Mass shootings are rare but in 2020, a soldier angry over a property deal gone sour killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations. By Gareth Davies, Telegraph

The government of Somalia announced over the weekend that Abdullahi Nadir, a Somali Islamist extremist and one of the co-founders of the Al Shabaab terror group, had been killed following a joint operation with international partners.

 

The government of Somalia announced over the weekend that Abdullahi Nadir, a Somali Islamist extremist and one of the co-founders of the Al Shabaab terror group, had been killed following a joint operation with international partners. 

The announcement, made by Somalia’s Information Ministry, came late on Sunday night, reporting that the strike had taken place the previous day. The statement indicated that Nadir had been the terror group’s highest judicial official and its de facto second-in-command and was being prepared to succeed its ailing leader, Ahmed Diriye. 

“The government is grateful to the Somali people and international friends whose cooperation facilitated the killing of this leader,” the statement read, without elaborating on who had cooperated in the mission. The statement described Nadir as a “thorn” and an “enemy of the Somali nation.”

Al Shabaab was formed in the mid-2000s as a wing of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist umbrella organization that briefly governed Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The group continued to operate after the ICU’s collapse, carrying out a series of highly destructive suicide bombings and other terror attacks against the country’s transitional government. The group is perhaps best known outside of Somalia for its attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall in neighboring Kenya in 2013, which it claimed had been launched in retaliation for Kenya’s participation in the international coalition against it.

Al Shabaab is loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda and swore allegiance to its former leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, although it has continued to operate independently and some of its members sided instead with the Islamic State (ISIS) following its emergence in 2014. By Trevor Filseth, The National Interest

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