Behaviour Of Lions Research Articles

Optimal foraging of lions at the human wildlands interface

AbstractOptimal foraging and landscape of fear theories provide frameworks which can be useful for investigating animal's space and prey use decisions. Predators, such as African lions Panthera leo, are likely to respond to prey abundance, accessibility, profitability and potential risks, often anthropogenic in nature, while making foraging decision. Identifying the relative role of these processes has important conservation implications. We investigated the relative role of responses to a pastoralist landscape of fear within lion feeding and spatial ecology in a landscape at the human‐wildlands interface. We collected spatial and predation data from 12 GPS‐collared lions and ungulate count data from transects, along the South Africa–Mozambique border, including parts of Kruger, Limpopo and Banhine National Parks. We calculated Jacobs' Index values from 80 kills to investigate lion selection of wild and domestic ungulates as prey, used maximum entropy modelling to predict multi‐season ungulate spatial occurrence and used resource selection functions to estimate the relative probability of use of wild and domestic ungulate areas by lions. All lions had access to wild prey and domestic livestock within their home ranges. Lions showed a strong selection for large‐bodied wild ungulates as prey taking waterbuck, zebra, kudu and buffalo more frequently then predicted by their availability. Lions showed a slight avoidance of cattle as prey, with cattle outnumbering larger ungulates across much of the study area. Lions showed the greatest selection for habitats with high occurrences of wild prey, specifically areas with kudu, then nyala and buffalo, during the dry seasons and showed strong avoidance of cattle areas during the wet season; a season when cattle are kept closer to settlements and thus better protected and easier to predict and avoid. These results suggest that lions select for wild prey and habitats optimally, yet show a fear response to cattle and cattle areas. This duality in the foraging behaviour of lions suggests that efforts to mitigate human–lion conflict and preserve vulnerable lion populations should focus on both increasing wild ungulate populations as well as exploiting lion's fear of humans with careful consideration of the risks of livestock presence acting as an ecological trap for vulnerable lion populations.

Mountain lions avoid burned areas and increase risky behavior after wildfire in a fragmented urban landscape

Urban environments are high risk areas for large carnivores, where anthropogenic disturbances can reduce fitness and increase mortality risk.1 When catastrophic events like large wildfires occur, trade-offs between acquiring resources and avoiding risks of the urban environment are intensified. This landscape context could lead to an increase in risk-taking behavior by carnivores if burned areas do not allow them to meet their energetic needs, potentially leading to human-wildlife conflict.2,3 We studied mountain lion behavior using GPS location and accelerometer data from 17 individuals tracked before and after a large wildfire (the 2018 Woolsey Fire) within a highly urbanized area (Los Angeles, California, USA). After the wildfire, mountain lions avoided burned areas and increased behaviors associated with anthropogenic risk, including more frequent road and freeway crossings (mean crossings increased from 3 to 5 per month) and greater activity during the daytime (means from increased 10% to 16% of daytime active), a time when they are most likely to encounter humans. Mountain lions also increased their amount of space used, distance traveled (mean distances increased from 250 to 390km per month), and intrasexual overlap, potentially putting them at risk of intraspecific conflict. Joint pressures from urbanization and severe wildfire, alongside resulting risk-taking, could thus increase mortality and extinction risk for populations already suffering from low genetic diversity, necessitating increased connectivity in fire-prone areas.

Diurnal and Nocturnal Behaviour of Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and Lions (Panthera leo) in Zoos.

Simple SummaryTo date, few studies have examined both night-time and daytime behaviour of lions and cheetahs in zoos. To gain a deeper understanding of behavioural rhythms, this knowledge needs to be expanded. In our study, light was a strong influencing factor leading to different diurnal and nocturnal activity budgets. During the day, both species were significantly more active than during the night. These daily activity peaks correlated with feeding time. At night, lions showed increased resting behaviour with long sleep phases averaging more than 75 min per sleep event. Sleep phases are defined as minutes per sleep event with the animal’s body and head lying on the ground. The number of sleep phases, however, dropped slightly compared to the day. Cheetahs also had a higher length of sleep phases at night than during the day, although the increase was smaller than in lions. However, the number of sleep phases was significantly higher than during the day in all animals. Our results show that the behavioural rhythms of lions and cheetahs differ significantly during the day and night. The results show that studies that take into account 24-h rhythms are well suited to measure diurnal rhythms and, based on this, possibly derive statements on management and husbandry.Mammals are constantly exposed to exogenous and endogenous influences that affect their behaviour and daily activity. Light and temperature, as well as anthropogenic factors such as husbandry routines, visitors, and feeding schedules are potential influences on animals in zoological gardens. In order to investigate the effects of some of these factors on animal behaviour, observational studies based on the analyses of activity budgets can be used. In this study, the daily and nightly activity budgets of six lions (Panthera leo) and five cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from four EAZA institutions were investigated. Focused on the influencing factor light and feeding, we analysed these activity budgets descriptively. Behaviour was recorded and analysed during the winter months over an observation period of 14 days and 14 nights using infrared-sensitive cameras. Our results show that lions and cheetahs exhibit activity peaks at crepuscular and feeding times, regardless of husbandry. Thus, lions in captivity shift nocturnal behaviour familiar from the wild to crepuscular and diurnal times. In cheetahs, in contrast, captive and wild individuals show similar 24 h behavioural rhythms. The resting behaviour of both species is more pronounced at night, with cheetahs having a shorter overall sleep duration than lions. This study describes the results of the examined animals and is not predictive. Nevertheless, the results of this study make an important contribution to gaining knowledge about possible factors influencing the behaviour of lions and cheetahs in zoos and offer implications that could be useful for improving husbandry and management.

OPTIMAL DG PLACEMENT USING FUZZY AND ANT LION ALGORITHM

This article proposes a novel methodology for placing DG units in electrical distribution systems that incorporates Fuzzy and Ant Lion Algorithms (ALA) in order to minimize power losses and improve the voltage profile. Electrical energy is critical to daily existence. A keen interest in all available sources of energy has resulted in the promotion of generating electrical power using renewable energy sources such as solar, tidal waves, and wind. Due to the growing interest in renewable energy sources in recent years, research on distributed generating integration into the power grid has accelerated. Distributed generation (DG) sources are added to the network primarily to mitigate power losses by supplying a net quantity of energy. To minimize power system line losses, it is critical to establish the amount and placement of local generating. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the optimal site for dispersed generating. The research employs a fuzzy technique to determine the ideal positions of DG units and a ant lion algorithm based on the intelligent behavior of ant lions to determine the optimal locations and sizes to reduce the losses and to improve the voltage. The proposed approach is written in MATLAB, and the results are provided for 15-bus and 33-bus test systems.

Diving behavior, foraging strategies, and energetics of female Steller sea lions during early lactation

Lactating Steller sea lions (SSL; Eumetopias jubatus) are income breeders, which balance the energetic cost of provisioning a pup with alternating periods of foraging at sea and nursing onshore during a 12–36 month dependency period. Foraging dives may be benthic or epipelagic, and the diverse diet varies seasonally and geographically. The objective of this study was to use animal-borne video and data recorders (VDRs) to record prey captures and characterize the three-dimensional movements, dive performance, and foraging strategies of female SSL while rearing a pup on Lovushki Island, located in the Kuril Island Archipelago in Far Eastern Russia. Female SSL made short foraging trips (8.7 h) and remained relatively close to the rookery (< 15 km) with an average swim speed of 1.5 m sec−1 and metabolic rate of 3.15 W kg−1, which was 1.8-fold greater than their estimated resting metabolic rate. We identified two types of dives representing shallow (Type 3) and deep (Type 4) benthic foraging, primarily on Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius) at night when they rest on the seafloor. The estimated Field Metabolic Rate (FMR; 2.31 W kg−1) for a mean 31.7 h foraging-nursing cycle was only 1.3-fold greater than their estimated resting metabolic rate, primarily because the females spent 73% of their time onshore nursing the pup. The short foraging trips near the rookery and low FMR indicated abundant prey. On average, female SSL captured 35.4 fish during a foraging trip, which represented an estimated 20.8 kg of prey. This was sufficient to remain in energy balance and provision a pup during early lactation. However, a 10–20% reduction in the size or abundance of prey would result in a 38–76% reduction in milk production, respectively, which would cause reduced growth or death of the pup. These calculations indicate the thin margin for energy balance in SSL during early lactation. Hence, any reduction in the size or abundance of prey could have serious consequences for reproductive success and fitness.

Thomas H. Kunz

Thomas H. Kunz

Multiobjective Ant Lion Approaches Applied to Electromagnetic Device Optimization

Nature-inspired metaheuristics of the swarm intelligence field are a powerful approach to solve electromagnetic optimization problems. Ant lion optimizer (ALO) is a nature-inspired stochastic metaheuristic that mimics the hunting behavior of ant lions using steps of random walk of ants, building traps, entrapment of ants in traps, catching preys, and re-building traps. To extend the classical single-objective ALO, this paper proposes four multiobjective ALO (MOALO) approaches using crowding distance, dominance concept for selecting the elite, and tournament selection mechanism with different schemes to select the leader. Numerical results from a multiobjective constrained brushless direct current (DC) motor design problem show that some MOALO approaches present promising performance in terms of Pareto-optimal solutions.

Effects of Nearby Construction Work on the Behavior of Asiatic Lions (Panthera leo persica)

In order to be successful and have high standards of animal welfare, modern zoos strive to regularly modify, improve, and build animal enclosures and visitor areas. However, these periods of development could result in temporary durations of sub-optimal welfare for animals housed nearby. In this study, we monitored the behavior of three Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) prior to, during, and following a period of construction on a nearby building. Our results provide evidence that welfare may have been temporarily reduced during the construction period. Compared to the pre-construction period, the male exhibited an increase in pacing behavior and all three lions reduced the time they spent resting. We infer that the most significant negative stimulus related to the construction was sound and/or ground vibrations, as a physical barrier ruled out stress from visual stimuli. The behavioral response to the construction work was relatively short-lived and no long-term changes were observed one year on. This research highlights the importance of measuring animal behavior around events outside routine husbandry, and considering animal welfare on an individual basis. Finally, this work adds to the body of literature surrounding the impacts of construction on animal wellbeing and outlines some suggestions for potential mitigation.

The effects of human exposure on Galápagos sea lion behavior

The endangered Galápagos sea lion lives among a rapidly growing human population, and conflicts between humans and sea lions are increasing. Protection of this fragile species requires a better understanding of how anthropogenic activity affects its health and survival. In this study, we engaged a group of local students in a community science project to conduct long‐term observations of the effects of human disturbance on sea lion behavior. We compared three types of behavior – reaction to human approach, vocalizations and group size – across four different haul‐out sites which varied in their levels of human disturbance. We found that sea lions respond less aggressively to humans on beaches that are more disturbed. This may be because sea lions acclimate to human disturbance or because sea lions with a low tolerance for humans avoid disturbed sites. We also found that aggressive vocalizations between sea lions increase as sea lion group size increases, though group size was not linked to human disturbance. We did not quantify stress levels, but aggressive behavior often indicates elevated stress levels, which are energetically costly and can impair immune function. Our results suggest that conservation efforts should focus on limiting human–sea lion interactions and increasing the number and quality of available haul‐out sites.

Horizontal disease transmission in lions from behavioural interfaces via social network analysis

The degree of relatedness and an interacting unifying central member can exacerbate disease transmission within a social group. The severity of the disease depends on the route, dose and frequency of infection. Group-living social mammals thus have the ability to exacerbate the spread of the disease. Lions Panthera leo are social carnivores with individuals interacting on a regular basis. We used observations of lion behaviours to define potential transmission routes between individuals and the likely spread of diseases in the lion population of the Kruger National Park. This allowed description of the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis to mimic and predict the potential rate of horizontal disease transmission within lion prides. Social network analysis allowed us to identify the most important pride members and the implications of interactions with these members for spreading disease in prides. Three prides in the southern region of the Kruger National Park comprised degrees of relatedness within prides that predict variable links between pride members. The interactive behaviour of young lions with each other, a key element of learning in social mammals, play a key role in dictating contact rates that enhance disease transmission. Even so, within prides, R0 < 1 predicts that bovine tuberculosis should disappear from a pride. Persistence of the disease as noted for lions in Kruger can only realize through unlikely transmissions or through feeding on infected prey. Our results support lions as a spill-over host.

Preference assessments as a tool to evaluate environmental enrichment.

Environmental enrichment is an important tool utilized to improve animal welfare in zoological institutions through opportunity for mental and physical stimulation. Many past studies have focused on the impact enrichment has on animal behavior; however, none have conducted preference assessments on enrichment items to examine the relationship between animals' preferences and interaction with enrichment over a 24-hr period. Ten-minute free operant, paired-choice preference assessments were implemented in Study 1 to determine the enrichment preferences of African lions (N = 3). Following Study 1, Study 2 was conducted, which examined the behavior of African lions with enrichment items over the course of 30, 24-hr trials to evaluate the relationship between preferences established in Study 1 and long-term interaction with the enrichment. Generalized estimating equations revealed a statistically significant relationship between the percentage of time the enrichment was approached first and the average duration of interaction in Study 1 to the total duration of interaction and the percent of hours interacted with the item in Study 2. Additionally, the first 2 min of the preference data resulted in comparable statistically significant findings, demonstrating shorter preference assessments can produce similar results. The results support our prediction that preference assessments can be used to estimate the amount of interaction with enrichment over the course of time, with preferred items being interacted with more frequently and in longer duration. Information gained from this study suggests preference assessments can be a time and cost-effective tool to evaluate enrichment preference and predicted efficacy.

Ant Lion Optimizer: A Comprehensive Survey of Its Variants and Applications

This paper introduces a comprehensive overview of the Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO). ALO is a novel metaheuristic swarm-based approach introduced by Mirjalili in 2015 to emulate the hunting behavior of ant lions in nature life. The review is highlighted the applications that are utilized ALO algorithm to solve various optimization problems. In ALO, the best solution is determined to enhance the performance of the functional and efficient during the optimization process by finding the minimum or maximum values to solve a certain problem. Metaheuristic algorithms have become the focus of research due to introduce of decision-making and asses the benefits in solving various optimization problems. Also, a review of ALO variants is presented in this paper such as binary, modification, hybridization, enhanced, and others. The classifications of the ALO’s applications include the benchmark functions, machine learning applications, networks applications, engineering applications, software engineering, and Image processing. Finally, According to the reviewed papers published in the literature, the ALO algorithm is mostly utilized in solving various optimization problems. Presenting an overview and reviewing the ALO applications are the main aims of this review paper.

Do Contraceptive Rods Affect the Behaviour of African Lions (Panthera leo) in Captivity?

Surplus animals in zoos and wildlife parks are handled differently across Europe. Some zoos use the “Breed and Cull”-method where animals are allowed to reproduce, and surplus animals culled when the mature. Other zoos sterilize the animals or inject them with contraceptive rods to prevent reproduction. Naturally secreted hormones affect both behaviour and morphology, but the effect of the injected hormones has not been studied in lions. The aim of this observational study was to compare the behaviour in captive groups of female lions, that had either been injected with contraceptive rods or not. The study was made in eight different zoos in Denmark, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. We found no significant differences in the behaviour of the two groups (with and without rods), indicating that there was no effect of contraceptive rods. However, the small sample size, and unbalanced factors such as pride composition, age and weather could have blurred our results. In order to address the challenge of surplus animals, we suggest, future studies with a more optimal experimental design and larger sample sizes and the inclusion of physiological measurement in addition to quantitative behavioural recordings.

The effectiveness of hazing African lions as a conflict mitigation tool: implications for carnivore management

AbstractHuman–carnivore conflict (HCC) represents one of the greatest threats to rural livelihoods and the persistence of large carnivores. The application of aversive conditioning, the association of unpleasant stimuli with the occurrence of unwanted behaviors, to mitigate HCC has achieved mixed results within and across species, making a better understanding of the factors driving intervention success critical to inform management practices. We explored the degree to which the chasing of African lions (Panthera leo) out of no tolerance zones conditions lion behavior to reduce their rate of return into community lands or rate of repeated livestock killing, providing evidence‐based understanding of program outcomes. We used data from 15 global positioning system (GPS)‐collared lions adjacent to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, with each lion receiving 0–17 conditioning treatments, and analyzed the data using recurrent event survival analysis and logistic regression. Chases were most successful (i.e., lion pushed out of the no tolerance zone by sunrise of the following day) in the dry season (i.e., when wild prey were more predictable), in areas closer to the park, and for individuals from smaller and more stable prides (i.e., had not lost a pride male within six months). Adult females and subadult males were more likely than adult males to reenter community lands, and subadult males were most likely to repeatedly depredate livestock. While livestock depredation has decreased since program initiation, the individuals in this study were overall not less likely to enter community lands or depredate livestock in response to chases when chases were considered isolated events. Rather, it was the consistency of deterrence events that proved most important in reducing livestock depredations, likely because of a stronger reinforcement between the undesired behavior and the negative stimulus. However, lions that had previously habitually killed livestock had greater depredation rates even after several conditioning treatments. Aversive conditioning holds promise in the management of carnivores that depredate livestock, but intervention must be consistent, ideally early in the development of problem behaviors, to maximize intervention effectiveness. Methods that separate wildlife from people (i.e., fencing, livestock enclosure fortification), in combination with aversive conditioning, may be needed to provide a sustainable, long‐term solution.

Optimal fractional order PID controller design using Ant Lion Optimizer

Abstract This paper uses a nature inspired metaheuristic algorithm based on the behavior of ant lions named as Ant Lion Optimization (ALO) to design the fractional order PID controller (FOPID) for controlling first order and higher order systems. The ALO is used to optimize the parameters of the FOPID controllers. This algorithm is based upon the hunting behavior of ant lions which is described by five important phases of hunting the ants: random walk, building trap, entrapments of ants in traps, sliding ants towards the antlion, catching the prey and rebuild the trap. ALO algorithm based fractional order PID controller is proposed for delay system and also for higher order system. To obtain the optimal computation, different performance indices such as IAE (Integral Absolute Error), ISE (Integral Squared Error), ITAE (Integral Time Absolute Error), ITSE (Integral Time Squared Error) are considered for the optimization. As the delay system exhibits non-minimum phase characteristic, to improve gain and phase margin, the ALO based fractional order PID is optimally designed by considering different objective functions such as IAE, ISE, ITAE and ITSE. All the simulations are carried out in Simulink/Matlab environment. The proposed method has superiority value in terms of transient and frequency responses as compared with other methods, which has been demonstrated by illustrative examples.

Prediction of equipment performance index based on improved chaotic lion swarm optimization–LSTM

The lion swarm optimizer (LSO) algorithm is a novel meta-heuristic, inspired from the social behavior of lions. This paper introduces the chaos theory into the LSO algorithm with the aim of accelerating its global convergence speed. First, detailed studies are carried out on standard constrained benchmark problems with ten different chaotic maps to find out the most efficient one. Then, the improved chaotic lion swarm optimization algorithm is compared with the traditional LSO and some other popular meta-heuristics algorithms. Lastly, this paper uses the improved chaotic lion swarm algorithm to further optimize the LSTM super-parameters for the problem of equipment life prediction. In addition, for the validity of the analysis method, the comparative experiments of several typical time series prediction models and different parameter optimization algorithms are carried out to verify the proposed methods in each part, which proves that the improved chaotic lion group–LSTM model has strong generalization ability and higher accuracy in equipment life prediction.

Hunting success of lions affected by the moon's phase in a wooded habitat

AbstractVariation in moonlight affects foraging, hunting and vigilance behaviours in many nocturnal species. Here, we explore the effect of moonlight on the movement and hunting behaviour of African lions. Previous studies found bright moonlight is associated with reduced hunting success; however, those studies were largely undertaken in open habitats where predators are easily seen by prey species on moonlit nights. In this study, we explored whether moonlight affected hunting behaviour and success in a largely wooded environment. Measures of short‐term lion movements (distance moved, displacement and path tortuosity) derived from GPS telemetry data were used as indicators of movement behaviour. Field observations of belly distension were used to assess recent food intake. Lions had greater belly distension (indicating feeding success) on dark nights. However, this change in feeding success was not reflected by lion movement patterns—there was no evidence that these changed across moon phases. There was no evidence that lions used more covered habitats on brighter nights to facilitate concealment.

Sustainable safari practices: Proximity to wildlife, educational intervention, and the quality of experience

This research examines the perceived quality of experience for safari tourists within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in relation to wildlife viewing proximities and the potential of an educational intervention as a management strategy to mitigate adverse impacts of safari participant crowding. Crowding originates from the safari tourists’ preference to obtain close proximity to large mammals, in this case, lions. Recognizing these preferences and the associated impacts to animal behavior defined in the previous research, we developed and delivered a survey instrument designed to measure the perceived quality of experience of the safari tourist while controlling for the viewing proximity variable. The survey instrument involves participants responding to stock photos selected to represent the safari-tour experience, using a Likert type rating scale. Using a ‘pre-treatment’ and ‘post treatment’ protocol, we measure an educational management intervention that correlates the impact of intervention on safari participants’ perceptions of the quality of safari experience based on proximity to animals. Our findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between an educational intervention conveying the adverse impacts of crowding on lion behavior and safari tourists’ perception of a quality experience in relation of proximity to lions. Management implications•To support the findings of Ngrongoro Conservation Area Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).•To inform the wildlife viewing policies and practices•To establish the validity of an education intervention.•To mediate visitor perceptions.•To ameliorate concerns related to tensions between revenue generation and conservation practices.•To model an environmental education intervention.•To generate a platform for understanding visitor preferences for safari guides.•To demonstrate the efficacy of precise environmental information on tourists understanding of complex environmental systems.•To inform management policies with respect to vehicular congestion as a variable of environmental concern.

Sea Lion Optimization Algorithm

This paper suggests a new nature inspired metaheuristic optimization algorithm which is called Sea Lion Optimization (SLnO) algorithm. The SLnO algorithm imitates the hunting behavior of sea lions in nature. Moreover, it is inspired by sea lions' whiskers that are used in order to detect the prey. SLnO algorithm is tested with 23 well-known test functions (Benchmarks). Optimization results show that the SLnO algorithm is very competitive compared to Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO), Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA) and Dragonfly Algorithm (DA).

Uncovering hidden states in African lion movement data using hidden Markov models

Context Direct observations of animals are the most reliable way to define their behavioural characteristics; however, to obtain these observations is costly and often logistically challenging. GPS tracking allows finer-scale interpretation of animal responses by measuring movement patterns; however, the true behaviour of the animal during the period of observation is seldom known. Aims The aim of our research was to draw behavioural inferences for a lioness with a hidden Markov model and to validate the predicted latent-state sequence with field observations of the lion pride. Methods We used hidden Markov models to model the movement of a lioness in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. A three-state log-normal model was selected as the most suitable model. The model outputs are related to collected data by using an observational model, such as, for example, a distribution for the average movement rate and/or direction of movement that depends on the underlying model states that are taken to represent behavioural states of the animal. These inferred behavioural states are validated against direct observation of the pride’s behaviour. Key results Average movement rate provided a useful alternative for the application of hidden Markov models to irregularly spaced GPS locations. The movement model predicted resting as the dominant activity throughout the day, with a peak in the afternoon. The local-movement state occurred consistently throughout the day, with a decreased proportion during the afternoon, when more resting takes place, and an increase towards the early evening. The relocating state had three peaks, namely, during mid-morning, early evening and about midnight. Because of the differences in timing of the direct observations and the GPS locations, we had to compare point observations of the true behaviour with an interval prediction of the modelled behavioural state. In 75% of the cases, the model-predicted behaviour and the field-observed behaviour overlapped. Conclusions Our data suggest that the hidden Markov modelling approach is successful at predicting a realistic behaviour of lions on the basis of the GPS location coordinates and the average movement rate between locations. The present study provided a unique opportunity to uncover the hidden states and compare the true behaviour with the inferred behaviour from the predicted state sequence. Implications Our results illustrated the potential of using hidden Markov models with movement rate as an input to understand carnivore behavioural patterns that could inform conservation management practices.