Clever girl? An observation of innovative prey handling by a dingo (Canis dingo)

Predators often exhibit highly intelligent and adaptable hunting techniques to subdue large prey; however, these events are rarely captured. Here I report an infrequently seen occurrence of a dingo (Canis dingo) utilising waves on the eastern beach of K’gari (Fraser Island) to entrap, tire and deliberately drown an adult swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor). This behaviour highlights an adaptive technique for innovative prey handling by a single dingo to achieve an outcome that would usually take two or more animals under normal conditions.

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Evaluation of an exclusion plot design for determining the impacts of native and exotic herbivores on forest understoreys.

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am08010 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 83 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. Bennett ◽

G. Coulson

Keyword(s):

Partial Exclusion ◽

Wallabia Bicolor ◽

Sambar Deer ◽

Cervus Unicolor ◽

Swamp Wallaby ◽

Exotic Herbivores ◽

Plot Design ◽

Water Catchments

To study the effects of grazing and browsing by Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) and wombats (Vombatus ursinus) exclosure plots measuring 10 m x 10 m were erected in the Upper Yarra and O'Shannassy water catchments near Melbourne, Victoria. Total exclusion fences and partial exclusion fences were erected. Design details and costs are provided. Operational problems are discussed.

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Is headfirst ingestion essential in gape-limited predators? Prey-handling behavior of the anurophagous snake Rhabdophis tigrinus (Colubridae)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z06-073 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 84 (7) ◽

pp. 954-963 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Akira Mori

Keyword(s):

Simple Model ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Buccal Cavity ◽

Stomach Contents ◽

Large Prey ◽

Behavioral Trait ◽

Hind Limbs ◽

Rhabdophis Tigrinus ◽

Prey Handling ◽

Physical Resistance

Headfirst ingestion of prey is a common adaptive behavioral trait in gape-limited predators that swallow large prey whole. To ascertain this tendency during anurophagy, prey handling and direction of prey ingestion were investigated in Rhabdophis tigrinus (Boie, 1826), a snake that feeds mainly on anurans. Examinations of stomach contents of wild R. tigrinus revealed that this snake does not show a tendency for headfirst ingestion of large prey, unlike most other snake species. In the laboratory, direction of ingestion depended largely on initial bite position, and when R. tigrinus swallowed a frog rump-first, the snake grasped both hind limbs of the frog and aligned them side by side so that both were swallowed together simultaneously from their tips. A simple model test suggested that physical resistance in the buccal cavity incurred during transportation of frogs may not differ between headfirst and hind-first ingestion if the hind limbs of frogs are aligned and swallowed simultaneously. Laboratory experiments also demonstrated that ingestively naive hatchlings of R. tigrinus are able to perform the unique manipulation required to swallow frogs hind-first. It is suggested that this unique ingestion mode is an adaptation for anurophagy, and several possible functional advantages are discussed.

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Unusual Manifestation of Cryptococcosis in a Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)

Journal of Comparative Pathology ◽

10.1016/j.jcpa.2011.11.106 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 146 (1) ◽

pp. 71

Author(s):

C. Lempp ◽

F. Seehusen ◽

M. Kummrow ◽

K. Grützmacher ◽

W. Baumgärtner

Keyword(s):

Unusual Manifestation ◽

Wallabia Bicolor ◽

Swamp Wallaby

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Road-Kills of the Swamp Wallaby, Wallabia-Bicolor, on North-Stradbroke-Island, Southeast Queensland

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9890095 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 95 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

R Osawa

Keyword(s):

Significant Variation ◽

Faecal Pellet ◽

Native Forest ◽

The Road ◽

Pellet Counts ◽

Wallabia Bicolor ◽

The Relationship ◽

Southeast Queensland ◽

Swamp Wallaby ◽

Made In

A total of 127 road-kills of the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor, on North Stradbroke Island in south-east Queensland was recorded between May 1981 and April 1982. The majority of kills were of adults. Road-kills occurred mainly at night, suggesting that W. bicolor is nocturnal, and were significantly correlated with the number of vehicles brought onto the island by ferries. Faecal pellet counts were made in classified habitats along the road in order to determine the relationship between the population density and road-kills of W. bicolor. Road-kills were significantly correlated with the faecal pellet counts in the Disturbed Ares (narrow, artificially cleared areas adjacent to the road) but not with the counts in the Native Area (i.e. native forest). This indicates that the wallabies were attracted to the disturbed area and became more susceptible to being killed by vehicles. There was no significant variation in the number of road-kills between lunar phases.

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Camera traps provide insight into factors influencing trap success of the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am13006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ami Bennett ◽

Graeme Coulson

Keyword(s):

Camera Traps ◽

The Moon ◽

Target Species ◽

Moon Phases ◽

Trap Door ◽

New Moon ◽

Wallabia Bicolor ◽

Successful Capture ◽

Insight Into ◽

Swamp Wallaby

Trapping programs for mammals often have low capture success, which is known to be influenced by a range of environmental factors, in addition to aspects of the traps themselves. However, the behavioural responses to traps by the target species are largely unknown. We simultaneously set camera traps and soft-walled double-layered traps for swamp wallabies, Wallabia bicolor, and used images from the camera traps to investigate responses by the target species. Wallabies mostly visited traps after sunset, with the number of visits declining steadily through the night. Visits to traps were more frequent during crescent and new moon phases and when the moon was set. In the majority (59%) of these visits, wallabies did not enter the traps. In some cases wallabies consumed only the bait outside the trap, or the trap door had been closed, usually by other swamp wallabies or bobucks, Trichosurus cunninghami, but in many cases (28% of visits) we could not discern why wallabies failed to enter. When wallabies did enter traps, just 14% of visits resulted in successful capture, with non-captures mainly occurring because wallabies reached in to obtain bait without triggering the trap.

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Naturally-occurring tooth wear, tooth fracture, and cranial injuries in large carnivores from Zambia

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.11313 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e11313

Author(s):

Blaire Van Valkenburgh ◽

Paula A. White

Keyword(s):

Prey Species ◽

Prey Type ◽

Tooth Wear ◽

Spotted Hyena ◽

Fracture Rate ◽

Large Prey ◽

Ecological Data ◽

Tooth Fracture ◽

Spotted Hyenas ◽

Prey Handling

Determining the incidence and causes of craniodental damage in wild carnivores is often constrained by limited access to specimens with associated ecological data, such as prey type and abundance. We assessed dental condition and cranial injuries in lion, leopard, and spotted hyena in relation to prey and predator populations in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, where large prey are more abundant and lion and leopard more numerous, and the Greater Kafue Ecosystem, where smaller prey species are more prevalent and lion and leopard less common. In Luangwa, lions had significantly higher rates of tooth fracture, and blunt trauma injuries attributable to prey-handling, compared to Kafue lions. In contrast, leopards in both regions had similar rates of tooth wear and breakage. Overall, lions showed a significantly higher tooth fracture rate than leopards on a per tooth basis. Spotted hyenas had the highest rates of tooth wear and fracture among all three carnivores, and greatly exceeded previously recorded rates based on historical samples. Despite larger numbers of lion and leopard in Luangwa, there was no difference in incidence of intraspecific injuries between regions. These results are consistent with a greater abundance of large prey species, especially buffalo, in the diets of Luangwa lions, and previous work showing a reliance on smaller prey species in Kafue throughout the large carnivore guild.

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Reproduction in female swamp wallabies, Wallabia bicolor

Reproduction Fertility and Development ◽

10.1071/rd06024 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 735 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Justyna Zofia Paplinska ◽

Richard L. C. Moyle ◽

Peter D. M. Temple-Smith ◽

Marilyn B. Renfree

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Biology ◽

Growth Curve ◽

Significant Variation ◽

Gestation Period ◽

In The Wild ◽

Wallabia Bicolor ◽

Swamp Wallaby

The swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) is a common, medium-sized, browsing macropodid marsupial that is unique in many ways. Relatively little is known about the reproductive biology of this species. Previous studies have proposed that the swamp wallaby has a pre-partum oestrus because the gestation period ( x ¯ -->x = 35.5 days, n = 4) is on average longer than the oestrus period ( x ¯ -->x = 31.0 days, n = 5) and the period from the removal of pouch young (RPY) to mating ( x ¯ -->x = 26.0days, n = 3). In the current study, the period from RPY to birth was confirmed at x ¯ -->x = 31.25 days (n = 4) in captive animals, consistent with a pre-partum oestrus. A growth curve for swamp wallaby pouch young was constructed from the progeny of captive animals to estimate the age and date of birth of young in a wild, culled population in South Gippsland, Victoria, and the reproduction of females in the wild throughout the year was examined. Young were born in every month of the year, with no statistically significant variation in the number of young born in each month. Females did not have a period of seasonal anoestrus and conceived throughout the year. Female swamp wallabies in South Gippsland bred continuously throughout the period of this study.

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Home range of the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9930571 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 571 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

S Troy ◽

G Coulson

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Convex Polygons ◽

Minimum Convex Polygon ◽

Eucalypt Forest ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Wallabia Bicolor ◽

Swamp Wallaby

Home range in the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor (Marsupialia : Macropodoidea) was examined using radio-tracking in a 150-ha remnant of mixed eucalypt forest at Healesville, Victoria. Three methods were used to calculate home-range size: minimum convex polygons, fourier transform MAP(O.95) and MAP(0.50) estimation, and harmonic mean 50% isopleths and 95% isopleths. The minimum convex polygon method produced the largest estimate of home-range area (16.01 +/-.45 ha). Each method required a different number of fixes before home-range area estimates reached an asymptote. These data showed that W. bicolor have small, overlapping home ranges and that the shape of the home range varied between individuals. Home-range area was larger than previously reported for this species, and there was no significant difference between the sexes in home-range size.

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