Territorial Patrolling Research Articles

Intercommunity interactions and killings in central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from Loango National Park, Gabon

Intercommunity competition in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) has been widely studied in eastern (P. t. schweinfurthii) and western (P. t. verus) communities. Both subspecies show hostility towards neighboring communities but differ in rates of lethal attacks and female involvement. However, relatively little is known about the territorial behavior of the two other subspecies, central (P. t. troglodytes) and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (P. t. ellioti). Here, we present the first insights into intercommunity interactions of individuals of a community of central chimpanzees living in the Loango National Park in Gabon. The presence of individuals of neighboring communities in the Rekambo home range was assessed using 27 camera traps. Information was compiled on intergroup interactions recorded before (2005–2016) and after (January 2017–June 2019) the habituation of the community. Individuals from neighboring communities entered the core area, where nine out of 16 recorded intercommunity encounters occurred. Males were the main participants in territorial patrols and intercommunity aggressions. Females were part of all six territorial patrols recorded and dependent offspring participated in five patrols. Females were involved in intercommunity aggression in five out of twelve recorded encounters in which there was visual contact between communities. While the intercommunity encounter rate was lower than that reported across most other long-term chimpanzee sites, the annual intercommunity killing rate was among the highest. These results suggest that the frequency of lethal attacks at Loango is comparable to that reported for the eastern subspecies. In contrast, female involvement in intercommunity interactions mirrors that of the western subspecies.

Sex- And tissue-specific differences in telomere length in a reptile.

The usage of telomere length (TL) in blood as a proxy for the TL of other tissues relies on the assumption that telomere dynamics across all tissues are similar. However, telomere attrition can be caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) which may vary with metabolic rate, which itself varies across organs depending upon the life history strategy of an organism. Thus, we chose to measure the telomeres of various cell types in juvenile painted dragon lizards, Ctenophorus pictus, given their unusual life history strategy. Individuals typically only experience a single mating season. We measured the TL of male and female dragons using qPCR and observed that TL varied with tissue type and sex. Telomeres of blood cells were longer than those of liver, heart, brain, and spleen, and females had longer telomeres than males. Brain telomeres in males were approximately half the length of those in females. Telomeric attrition in the male brain may be due to the need for rapid learning of reproductive tactics (territory patrol and defense, mate‐finding). Significant correlations between the TL of tissue types suggest that blood TL may be a useful proxy for the TL of other tissues. Our comparison of organ‐specific telomere dynamics, the first in a reptile, suggests that the usage of blood TL as a proxy requires careful consideration of the life history strategy of the organism.

Reproductive behaviour and concurrent sound production of Gulf grouper Mycteroperca jordani (Epinephelidae) at a spawning aggregation site.

The reproductive and acoustic behaviours of Gulf grouper Mycteroperca jordani were studied at a spawning aggregation site in the southern Gulf of California, México. In May 2015-2017, divers located and surveyed a spawning aggregation site within Cabo Pulmo National Park. Adult M. jordani conformed to a lek mating system in which large males formed territories over sand adjacent to a rocky reef that were spatially segregated from smaller females outside of courtship and spawning periods. Females moved into male territories during evening hours to spawn. Male courtship behaviours targeted a single female, included head shakes and burst rises and preceded pair spawning prior to sunset. Males and females displayed three shared colour phases, but four phases were sex-specific. During evening hours, courtship and spawning, both sexes exhibited sexual dichromatism concurrent with reproductive behaviours. The pair-spawning mating system and observations of bimodal size distributions by sex support previous claims of protogyny in the species. Males produced sounds during territorial patrols, courtship and spawning rushes, which corroborated the importance of acoustic communication within the behavioural repertoire associated with spawning. Long-term acoustic monitoring revealed increases in total sounds detected day-1 from March through June with diel increases (e.g., evenings) that may be indicative of the spawning season. Observations of spawning on 12 consecutive evenings in May 2017 coupled with extended periods of sound production suggest that spawning does not follow a lunar rhythm. This first description of the mating system and sounds of the endangered M. jordani facilitates future development of seasonal and areal protections to restore and manage the species.

Geographic variation in call structure, likelihood, and call-song associations across subspecies boundaries, migratory patterns, and habitat types in the Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)

ABSTRACT Geographic variation in acoustic signals can be important in species divergence, especially the maintenance of prezygotic barriers to gene flow. Furthermore, selective pressures on acoustic signals likely vary both across geographic distances and among vocalizations used in different behavioral contexts. We described the call repertoire of 5 subspecies of Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) in eastern North America and tested for variation in both the acoustic structure and likelihood of production of each call type at 3 functional–ecological levels: subspecies identity, migratory pattern, and habitat type. Three of the 7 described call types exhibited acoustic variation best explained by either migratory pattern or habitat type. These calls were used principally in courtship–territorial patrol contexts, whereas 4 calls that did not exhibit geographic variation were used in agonistic interactions. How often a call is used in a population may be indicative of the behavior or breeding phenology asso...

Territory surveillance and prey management: Wolves keep track of space and time.

Identifying behavioral mechanisms that underlie observed movement patterns is difficult when animals employ sophisticated cognitive‐based strategies. Such strategies may arise when timing of return visits is important, for instance to allow for resource renewal or territorial patrolling. We fitted spatially explicit random‐walk models to GPS movement data of six wolves (Canis lupus; Linnaeus, 1758) from Alberta, Canada to investigate the importance of the following: (1) territorial surveillance likely related to renewal of scent marks along territorial edges, to reduce intraspecific risk among packs, and (2) delay in return to recently hunted areas, which may be related to anti‐predator responses of prey under varying prey densities. The movement models incorporated the spatiotemporal variable “time since last visit,” which acts as a wolf's memory index of its travel history and is integrated into the movement decision along with its position in relation to territory boundaries and information on local prey densities. We used a model selection framework to test hypotheses about the combined importance of these variables in wolf movement strategies. Time‐dependent movement for territory surveillance was supported by all wolf movement tracks. Wolves generally avoided territory edges, but this avoidance was reduced as time since last visit increased. Time‐dependent prey management was weak except in one wolf. This wolf selected locations with longer time since last visit and lower prey density, which led to a longer delay in revisiting high prey density sites. Our study shows that we can use spatially explicit random walks to identify behavioral strategies that merge environmental information and explicit spatiotemporal information on past movements (i.e., “when” and “where”) to make movement decisions. The approach allows us to better understand cognition‐based movement in relation to dynamic environments and resources.

Energetics‐informed behavioral states reveal the drive to kill in African leopards

AbstractThe drive to kill prey is central to understanding the population viability and ecological effects of large carnivores. This drive is modulated by behaviorally determined energetic expenditures, yet current methods of estimating the energetics of terrestrial carnivores are too coarse to inform the fine time scale behavioral decisions that incur the energetic costs leading to predation. Here, we use combined GPS and accelerometer collars calibrated to measure energetic outputs at scales of seconds to months on African leopards in Kenya. Fine‐scale data on energetic expenditures and movement allowed us to determine energetically informed behavioral states that accurately identified when animals killed or scavenged prey, and allowed us to visualize novel details concerning the cryptic natural history of these predators. Our results revealed large variation in daily field metabolic rate ranging from 11,000 to 32,000 kJ depending on the animal and the specific behaviors undertaken. Leopards expended 47,470 kJ between kill events on average, but this was increased if meal size from the previous kill was large. Our methods also allowed us to estimate the energetic costs of dispersal, territorial patrol, and parental care, considered important factors in overall energetic balance and thus the drive to kill. Based on this approach, we demonstrate how the cycle of behavior, energetic expenditure, and predatory drive underlies population trajectories of large carnivores as well as their direct and indirect effects on ecosystems.

Kálmán filters for continuous-time movement models

We introduce fast implementations for the likelihood functions, telemetry error filters, probabilistic trajectory and velocity reconstructions, and movement-path simulations for a large class of continuous-time movement models. This class of models includes all of the basic continuous-time models that have been applied to animal movement. A diverse array of movement behaviors can be modeled from within this framework, including range residence, persistence of motion, migration, range shifting, and territorial patrol. The fast algorithms presented here, based upon the Kálmán filter, are critical for applying movement analyses to the evergrowing number of modern datasets that feature thousands or more observed animal locations, and they are key to the continuous-time movement modeling (ctmm) R package.

The Effects of Habitat Deterioration and Social Status on Patrolling Behavior in the Territorial DamselflyCalopteryx splendens

ABSTRACT Patrolling behavior plays an important role in resource defense and in shaping social interactions in territorial species. However, it is not clear whether and how resource deterioration affects patrolling and interactions between territorial males. We addressed this issue by studying the territorial patrolling of damselfly Calopteryx splendens males, which use riverine vegetation patches composed of floating rafts of Potamogeton natans as territories. Males can hold single territories established on one vegetation patch (solitary residents) or hold adjacent territories established on shared vegetation patch (contiguous residents). The study predicted that solitary males engage more in patrolling than contiguous residents and that patrolling intensity is proportional to patch quality. Two types of semi-natural vegetation patches were sunk: of high and low quality measured on the basis of the patch size (range 2–5 m2) and its attractiveness to damselflies (measured as number of residents, non-terr...

Sound production by red hind Epinephelus guttatus in spatially segregated spawning aggregations

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 10:149-154 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00272 Sound production by red hind Epinephelus guttatus in spatially segregated spawning aggregations David Mann1,*, James Locascio1, Michelle Schärer2, Michael Nemeth2, Richard Appeldoorn2 1University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, 140 7th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA 2University of Puerto Rico, Department of Marine Science, PO Box 9000, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681 *Email: dmann@marine.usf.edu ABSTRACT: Many fishes, including groupers, produce sounds associated with mating behavior; recording and analyzing the occurrence of these sounds can provide long time-series records of grouper use of spawning habitat. Red hind Epinephelus guttatus sound production was recorded on spawning aggregation sites off the west coast of Puerto Rico and at Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Audio-video recordings were used to identify a species-specific sound produced by male red hind, most commonly during territorial patrols, and also during interactions with females. This sound is low in frequency (50 to 400 Hz) and consists of a series of pulses repeated at a variable rate. Long-term acoustic recorders were placed off the west coast of Puerto Rico at Abrir La Sierra and at Mona Island to record the timing of red hind sound production from January through March. Red hind sounds were detected at all times of the day, with peaks in sound production just before dusk. Monthly peaks in sound production were evident in each time series, but the monthly peak in sound production at Abrir La Sierra was 6 d later than the peak at Mona Island, suggesting that the timing of spawning of these 2 aggregations, while on a lunar schedule, was not broadly synchronized during this time period. This research lays the groundwork for both long-term monitoring and mapping of red hind spawning sites that will be useful for managing spawning aggregations, especially in remote areas. KEY WORDS: Red hind · Spawning aggregation · Sound production · Mona Island · Puerto Rico Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Mann D, Locascio J, Schärer M, Nemeth M, Appeldoorn R (2010) Sound production by red hind Epinephelus guttatus in spatially segregated spawning aggregations. Aquat Biol 10:149-154. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00272 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 10, No. 2. Online publication date: August 24, 2010 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.

Diurnal variation in preorbital gland scent marking behaviour of captive male Indian Blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra L.) and its territorial significance

Scent marking is a common behaviour among mammals, which involves the deposition of a pheromone, intended to elicit a response from conspecifics. The present study is aimed to establish the diurnal profile of the distribution of scent marking behaviour and its influence of the marker. The frequency of preorbital gland scent marking behaviour was observed in territorial and non-territorial male Indian blackbucks on 72 days, over a period of 18 weeks, starting data collection at 06.00 and continuing until the end of the photophase at about 16.00. An ANOVA with post hoc (DMRT) test was assessed to compare the frequency of preorbital gland scent marking at six 2-hour intervals using pooled data for territorial and non-territorial males. The result showed that the preorbital gland scent marking behaviour occurred significantly (P < 0.001) more often between 10:00–12:00 hrs and 16:00–18:00 hrs. It suggests that scent-marking behaviour in Indian blackbuck has a preferential incidence at a particular time, and this might have occurred in association with feeding hours. Moreover, an ANOVA with a post hoc comparison (DMRT) test revealed that the frequency of scent marking is significant (P < 0.001) when territorial males are compared to non-territorial males. We conclude that territorial male preorbital gland scent marking has the following proposed functions: (i) marking related to use for defense of the home range or territorial region may serve as a permanent threat signal and (ii) marking related to suppressing daily activities in non-territorial males (i.e. feeding, aggression, mating, scent marking, and territorial patrolling activities etc.), and involves maintenance of hierarchy and the avoidance of physical combat.

Assessment of dominance hierarchy through urine scent marking and its chemical constituents in male blackbuck Antelope cervicapra, a critically endangered species

In ungulates the process of chemical communication by urinary scent marking has been directly related to reproductive dominance, territorial defense and proximity to resources. The differences in the frequency of urine marking and chemical composition of urine of males Antelope cervicapra before, during and after the dominance hierarchy period were assessed. The variations in the urine marking and its chemical profiles of dominant males (n=9), bachelors (n=5) and sub-adult males (n=5) were compared to find out how the dominance hierarchy influences the confined blackbuck herd under semi-natural captive conditions. The frequency of urine marking is significantly higher (p<0.001) in dominant males. Twenty-eight major constituents were identified in the urine of dominant males (before, during and after the dominance hierarchy period), bachelor and sub-adult males. Among these, three specific compounds namely, 3-hexanone (I), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (II) and 4-methyl-3-heptanone (III) were seen only in dominant males urine during the dominance hierarchy period. Based on the behavioural observation and the unique chemical constituents in the urine, it is concluded that the dominant male scent odor suppresses aggression, scent marking, scent production and territorial patrolling activities of subordinate males, through which the dominant male establish their hierarchy and attains success in reproduction.

Honeydew foraging by birds in tropical montane forests and pastures of Mexico

Abstract:A honeydew-producing scale insect, Stigmacoccus garmilleri (Margarodidae), is associated with oak trees (Quercus spp.) in highland forests of Mexico. Although feeding by ants on scale-insect honeydew is more frequently documented in the literature, the honeydew produced by feeding instars of S. garmilleri is sufficient to provide nourishment for birds. This study elucidates bird use of honeydew in the tropical montane forests near Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, Mexico, and uncovers patterns in honeydew foraging. Over a 2-mo period, 40 trees harbouring scale insects, located in both forest and pasture areas, were intensely studied (160 h of bird-foraging observations along with quantitative measurements of honeydew production). Fifteen resident bird species and 18 migrant species were observed visiting observation trees. Approximately 72% of the resident bird species and 83% of the migrant bird species observed were recorded to forage on scale-insect honeydew. Audubon's warbler (Dendroica coronata auduboni) was the most active consumer and defender of the resource. Of 118 aggressive chases observed, only 9.65% occurred in forest observation trees, and 90.3% in pasture trees. Audubon's warbler demonstrated preferential defence and territorial patrolling of scale-insect honeydew in scattered pasture trees.

Energetic costs of territorial boundary patrols by wild chimpanzees

Chimpanzees are well known for their territorial behavior. Males who belong to the same community routinely patrol their territories, occasionally making deep incursions into those of their neighbors. Male chimpanzees may obtain several fitness benefits by participating in territorial boundary patrols, but patrolling is also likely to involve fitness costs. Patrollers risk injury or even death, and patrols may be energetically costly and may involve opportunity costs. Although territorial patrols have been reported at all long-term chimpanzee study sites, quantitative data on their energetic costs have not previously been available. I evaluated the energy costs of patrolling for male chimpanzees at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda during 14 months of observation. In 29 patrols and matched control periods, I recorded the distances covered and time spent traveling and feeding by chimpanzees. I found that male chimpanzees covered longer distances, spent more time traveling, and spent less time feeding during patrols than during control periods. These results support the hypothesis that chimpanzees incur energetic costs while patrolling and suggest that ecological factors may constrain the ability of chimpanzees to patrol.

Passive acoustic detection of grouper sound production

Passive acoustic recordings were used to study the behavior of red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) at spawning aggregation sites off of Puerto Rico and Mona Island, and goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) and red grouper (Epinephelus morio) on the West Florida Shelf. The sounds produced by each species were unique, low-frequency pulsed sounds and associated with reproductive-related behavior. Male red hind produced sounds composed of a series of pulses that graded into a tonal-like sound, mostly during territorial patrolling. Long-term acoustic recorder (LARS) data from the west coast of Puerto Rico and Mona Island showed similar diel periodicities of sound production of red hind, but had different monthly peaks in sound production. Goliath grouper sounds consisted of low-frequency individual pulses (50-100 Hz) that are consistent with sounds produced by a large fish, and showed lunar periodicity in sound production. Peaks in sound production occurred nightly after midnight, but sounds were also produced throughout the day. Sound production and spawning by red grouper was recorded using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at depths of 80-100 m. Passive acoustic techniques can provide synoptic, long-term time series of sound production associated with reproductive activities of soniferous species at widely spaced sites.

Thermoregulation in male western cicada killers ( Sphecius grandis Say) in the Chihuahuan desert

(1) Male western cicada killers ( Sphecius grandis) had elevated, apparently regulated, thorax temperatures during territorial patrolling. (2) Abdomen temperature increased steeply with increasing ambient temperature, approaching thorax temperature when ambient temperature exceeded 35 °C. (3) Both indirect evidence and heating experiments demonstrated the apparent ability to shunt heat from thorax to abdomen. (4) Dead, dry wasps reached lethal temperatures when placed in full sunlight on the bare ground, and substantially lower temperatures on plants. (5) The percentage of males perching was extremely low, occurring primarily during early morning hours. Most perching occurred on plants, and very little on the ground. (6) In contrast to what has been reported for eastern cicada killers ( Sphecius speciosus), S. grandis males did not appear to use sophisticated behaviors to regulate body temperature during territorial defense, relying primarily on physiological mechanisms. (7) This strategy may be more appropriate for S. grandis in the hotter, drier environment of the lowland Chihuahuan desert.

Influence of Age and Prior Experience on Territorial Behavior and the Costs of Defense in Male Collared Lizards

AbstractIn polygynous species where males maintain strong interseasonal philopatry to the same breeding territories, older individuals have prior experience defending their areas, whereas younger individuals are defending a territory for the first time. Theoretical and empirical studies predict that under such conditions the cumulative costs of defense may be lower for older experienced males as a consequence of familiarity with environmental and/or social conditions in their particular local habitats. We used quantitative data from focal observational studies and introduction experiments to test the hypothesis that older collared lizard males (Crotaphytus collaris) with prior territorial experience (3 yr+ males) acquire larger territories allowing them to court more, different females, with greater frequency without incurring higher defense costs. Consistent with this hypothesis, 3 yr+ males controlled significantly larger territories and courted more females, without having significantly higher rates of territory patrol, frequencies of advertisement display, or aggressive interactions with same‐sex competitors. Moreover, the intensity of responses to size‐ and age/experience‐matched tethered intruders by 3 yr+ males was lower than that by 2 yr males in their first season of territory defense. Our results support the hypothesis that age/prior occupancy of territories lowers defense costs allowing males to defend larger areas and increase opportunities to court females, perhaps increasing mating opportunities. By contrast, 2 yr males may need to respond more aggressively to intruders because their ownership of territories is tenuous as a consequence of shorter territory occupancy.

Natural behavioural biology as a risk factor in carnivore welfare: How analysing species differences could help zoos improve enclosures

In captivity, some species often seem to thrive, while others are often prone to breeding problems, poor health, and repetitive stereotypic behaviour. Within carnivores, for instance, the brown bear, American mink and snow leopard typically adapt well to captivity and show few signs of poor welfare, while the clouded leopard and polar bear are generally hard to breed successfully and/or to prevent from performing abnormal behaviour. Understanding the fundamental source of such differences could enable reproductive success and behavioural normalcy to be improved in zoos and breeding centres, by increasing the appropriateness of the enclosure designs and environmental enrichments offered particular species, and by allowing these to be offered pre-emptively instead of reactively. Here, we demonstrate that a significant proportion of the variation in apparent welfare between captive carnivore species stems from specific aspects of natural behaviour. We tested pre-existing hypotheses that species-typical welfare is predicted by natural hunting behaviour, general activity levels, ranging, or territorial patrolling (all activities that are constrained in captivity), by collating data on median stereotypy levels and infant mortality for multiple captive species, and then regressing these against median values for the relevant aspects of natural behavioural biology (e.g. hunts per day, proportion of flesh in the diet, home-range size, etc.). Our results revealed that instead of relating to foraging (e.g. hunting), as often assumed, carnivore stereotypy levels are significantly predicted by natural ranging behaviour (e.g. home-range size and typical daily travel distances). Furthermore, naturally wide-ranging lifestyles also predicted relatively high captive infant mortality rates. These results suggest that enclosure designs and enrichments focussing on carnivores’ ranging tendencies (e.g. providing more space, multiple den sites, greater day-to-day environmental variability/novelty, and/or more control over exposure to aversive or rewarding stimuli) could be particularly effective means of improving welfare; and also, that targeting such enrichment programmes on wide-ranging species, before problems even emerge, might effectively pre-empt their development. Alternatively, species with relatively small ranges could instead be made the focus of future collections and breeding programmes, zoos phasing out wide-ranging carnivores in favour of those species inherently more suited to current or readily achievable enclosure sizes and enrichment regimes.

Chimpanzees are indifferent to the welfare of unrelated group members

Humans are an unusually prosocial species-we vote, give blood, recycle, give tithes and punish violators of social norms. Experimental evidence indicates that people willingly incur costs to help strangers in anonymous one-shot interactions, and that altruistic behaviour is motivated, at least in part, by empathy and concern for the welfare of others (hereafter referred to as other-regarding preferences). In contrast, cooperative behaviour in non-human primates is mainly limited to kin and reciprocating partners, and is virtually never extended to unfamiliar individuals. Here we present experimental tests of the existence of other-regarding preferences in non-human primates, and show that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) do not take advantage of opportunities to deliver benefits to familiar individuals at no material cost to themselves, suggesting that chimpanzee behaviour is not motivated by other-regarding preferences. Chimpanzees are among the primates most likely to demonstrate prosocial behaviours. They participate in a variety of collective activities, including territorial patrols, coalitionary aggression, cooperative hunting, food sharing and joint mate guarding. Consolation of victims of aggression and anecdotal accounts of solicitous treatment of injured individuals suggest that chimpanzees may feel empathy. Chimpanzees sometimes reject exchanges in which they receive less valuable rewards than others, which may be one element of a 'sense of fairness', but there is no evidence that they are averse to interactions in which they benefit more than others.

Sound Production in Cyprinodon bifasciatus (Cyprinodontiformes)

Sound production in Cyprinodon bifasciatus, a pupfish endemic to the Cuatro Cienegas basin, Coahuila, Mexico, is documented. The average dominant frequency is 409 Hz, with an average duration of 55 msec. Calls were produced by males during pursuits of conspecifics and cichlids, during territory patrol, while following a female and after spawning. There are differences in call structure between contexts, especially postspawn calls versus pursuit and courtship calls. There may be differences between sites, especially Mojarral Oeste versus Becerra and Churince. Given sound production in this species of Cyprinodon and the related genus Fundulus, it is possible that sound production is more widespread than previously thought in Atherinimorpha. In addition, this is another documentation of sound production in a clear freshwater species indicating that sound production is widespread in clear freshwater fish.

Locomotor patterns, territory, and tunnel utilization in the mole‐rat Spalax ehrenbergi

The mole‐rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) is a solitary, subterranean rodent that excavates and inhabits its own tunnel system. The present study employed continuous radio‐telemetry in order to determine the structure and use of the mole‐rat's territory throughout the year. The use of radiotagged animals revealed that the spatial division of individuals in one area cannot be predicted simply on the basis of the above‐ground distribution of mounds. It was shown that mole‐rat territories undergo constant change in use and location throughout the year, with tunnel lengths averaging 18.7 ± 4.0 m in the dry season and 39.1 ± 7.1 m in the rainy season. The basic pattern of the mole‐rat tunnel system consisted of a main tunnel, 20–40 cm below the ground, with several short secondary tunnels branching off it. Most of the nests were connected to the tunnel system by two or more exits. During one 24‐h period, a mole‐rat travelled about 17 times the total length of its territory. Mole‐rats are active for about 50% of the time all year round, mainly during the day, and always return to the same nest for resting periods. The mole‐rat traverses its territory by walking short distances (c. 2 m) interspersed with pauses at certain permanent sites. While the pattern of territorial patrol normally remains uniform, under threat the patrol ceases to be homogeneous and the frequency of visits to confrontational areas increases. At these locations, the mole‐rat produces its‘head drumming’(vibrational) communication in order to announce its presence and defend its territory.