New Frontiers

Orca ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M. Colby
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Killer Whale ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Mature Male ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
International Airport ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Sexually Mature

Skana looked sick. On September 18, 1980, she failed to finish her show, and the next day she remained sluggish. Murray Newman and his staff were concerned. Along with Hyak II (formerly Tung-Jen), she was the Vancouver Aquarium’s biggest draw. In the thirteen years since Ted Griffin had captured her, Skana had been the star of Stanley Park, giving millions their first close-up view of a killer whale. And through her impact on Paul Spong and Greenpeace, she had helped reframe the international whaling debate. She may well have been the most influential cetacean in history, but she grew weaker each day, and despite heavy doses of antibiotics, she succumbed on Sunday, October 5. The necropsy revealed a fungal infection in her reproductive tract. Although aquarium officials were correct in noting that she had lived longer in captivity than any other killer whale, she was still young—no more than twenty. She might have lived fifty more years in the wild. Skana’s death left Hyak alone. He had come from Pender Harbour in 1968 as a small, frightened calf, and now he was a sexually mature male in need of a mate. Yet the acquisition of killer whales was no simple matter. The Department of Fisheries had stated that it would allow wild capture to replace orcas who died in captivity, but the Vancouver Aquarium hadn’t caught a killer whale since Moby Doll in 1964, and if it tried now, activists would surely oppose it. “I knew it would be unpopular for us to try to capture a live killer whale locally and felt a little frustrated about it,” Newman admitted. “To my mind, the entire awareness of the killer whales’ right to live was brought about by aquariums exhibiting these animals.” With nearby waters out of play, he looked to Iceland, which had become the primary source of captive orcas in recent years. After receiving the Canadian government’s permission to import whales, Newman boarded a plane for Iceland, arriving at Keflavik International Airport in the early morning of December 13, 1980.

Live-Capture Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Fishery, British Columbia and Washington, 1962–73

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1213-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Bigg ◽  
Allen A. Wolman
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Killer Whale ◽  
Orcinus Orca ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
In Captivity

In British Columbia and Washington 263 killer whales (Orcinus orca) were caught during 1962–73 of which 50 were kept for oceanaria, 12 died during capture operations, and the remainder escaped or were released. Peak cropping years were 1967–70 when 77% of all whales removed from the water were taken. Lengths of cropped males were 2.49–6.98 m and females, 2.80–6.25 m. Of 28 females taken an estimated 43% were mature and of 30 males, 20% were adult. The equation relating body length in centimeters and weight in kilograms is W = 0.000208 L2.577. Revenue to netters from the sale of 48 killer whales is estimated to be about $1,000,000. Of 48 whales held in captivity 48% were still alive on April 1, 1974. Survival to the end of 2 yr in captivity is 75% in whales thought to be immature and 13% in adults. The history, capture localities and techniques, and management regulations of the killer whale fishery are also described.

scholarly journals Imitation of novel conspecific and human speech sounds in the killer whale ( Orcinus orca )

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1871) ◽  
pp. 20172171 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Z. Abramson ◽  
Mª Victoria Hernández-Lloreda ◽  
Lino García ◽  
Fernando Colmenares ◽  
Francisco Aboitiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Killer Whale ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Imitative Learning ◽  
Vocal Imitation ◽  
Vocal Mimicry ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Subject

Vocal imitation is a hallmark of human spoken language, which, along with other advanced cognitive skills, has fuelled the evolution of human culture. Comparative evidence has revealed that although the ability to copy sounds from conspecifics is mostly uniquely human among primates, a few distantly related taxa of birds and mammals have also independently evolved this capacity. Remarkably, field observations of killer whales have documented the existence of group-differentiated vocal dialects that are often referred to as traditions or cultures and are hypothesized to be acquired non-genetically. Here we use a do-as-I-do paradigm to study the abilities of a killer whale to imitate novel sounds uttered by conspecific (vocal imitative learning) and human models (vocal mimicry). We found that the subject made recognizable copies of all familiar and novel conspecific and human sounds tested and did so relatively quickly (most during the first 10 trials and three in the first attempt). Our results lend support to the hypothesis that the vocal variants observed in natural populations of this species can be socially learned by imitation. The capacity for vocal imitation shown in this study may scaffold the natural vocal traditions of killer whales in the wild.

scholarly journals Family feud: permanent group splitting in a highly philopatric mammal, the killer whale (Orcinus orca)

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva H. Stredulinsky ◽  
Chris T. Darimont ◽  
Lance Barrett-Lennard ◽  
Graeme M. Ellis ◽  
John K. B. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Killer Whale ◽  
Group Structure ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Orcinus Orca ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Leadership Experience

Abstract For animals that tend to remain with their natal group rather than individually disperse, group sizes may become too large to benefit individual fitness. In such cases, group splitting (or fission) allows philopatric animals to form more optimal group sizes without sacrificing all familiar social relationships. Although permanent group splitting is observed in many mammals, it occurs relatively infrequently. Here, we use combined generalized modeling and machine learning approaches to provide a comprehensive examination of group splitting in a population of killer whales (Orcinus orca) that occurred over three decades. Fission occurred both along and across maternal lines, where animals dispersed in parallel with their closest maternal kin. Group splitting was more common: (1) in larger natal groups, (2) when the common maternal ancestor was no longer alive, and (3) among groups with greater substructuring. The death of a matriarch did not appear to immediately trigger splitting. Our data suggest intragroup competition for food, leadership experience and kinship are important factors that influence group splitting in this population. Our approach provides a foundation for future studies to examine the dynamics and consequences of matrilineal fission in killer whales and other taxa. Significance statement Group living among mammals often involves long-term social affiliation, strengthened by kinship and cooperative behaviours. As such, changes in group membership may have significant consequences for individuals’ fitness and a population’s genetic structure. Permanent group splitting is a complex and relatively rare phenomenon that has yet to be examined in detail in killer whales. In the context of a growing population, in which offspring of both sexes remain with their mothers for life, we provide the first in-depth examination of group splitting in killer whales, where splitting occurs both along and across maternal lines. We also undertake the first comprehensive assessment of how killer whale intragroup cohesion is influenced by both external and internal factors, including group structure, population and group demography, and resource abundance.

The first report of albinism in a Sundaland endemic rodent

Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Nations ◽  
Ahmad Mursyid ◽  
Ryski Darma Busta ◽  
Sah Putra Adrian ◽  
Heru Handika ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Mature Male ◽  
Congenital Disorder ◽  
Domesticated Animals ◽  
First Report ◽  
West Sumatra ◽  
Sexually Mature

AbstractAlbinism, a congenital disorder that results in a lack of melanin deposition, is common in domesticated animals but rare in nature. Among the ∼2500 species of rodents worldwide, only 67 have published reports of albinism. Here we report the capture of an albino murid (Muridae: Rodentia) from Mt. Singgalang in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The specimen is an adolescent but sexually mature male Maxomys hylomyoides, a montane Sumatran endemic. To our knowledge, this specimen represents the first reported albino rodent from Indonesia and Sundaland, and only the second from Southeast Asia.

scholarly journals On the modulation and maintenance of hibernation in captive dwarf lemurs

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina B. Blanco ◽  
Lydia K. Greene ◽  
Robert Schopler ◽  
Cathy V. Williams ◽  
Danielle Lynch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Restriction ◽  
Metabolic Disorders ◽  
Biological Rhythms ◽  
Food Ingestion ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Cheirogaleus Medius ◽  
Save Energy ◽  
Metabolic Strategies

AbstractIn nature, photoperiod signals environmental seasonality and is a strong selective “zeitgeber” that synchronizes biological rhythms. For animals facing seasonal environmental challenges and energetic bottlenecks, daily torpor and hibernation are two metabolic strategies that can save energy. In the wild, the dwarf lemurs of Madagascar are obligate hibernators, hibernating between 3 and 7 months a year. In captivity, however, dwarf lemurs generally express torpor for periods far shorter than the hibernation season in Madagascar. We investigated whether fat-tailed dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius) housed at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) could hibernate, by subjecting 8 individuals to husbandry conditions more in accord with those in Madagascar, including alternating photoperiods, low ambient temperatures, and food restriction. All dwarf lemurs displayed daily and multiday torpor bouts, including bouts lasting ~ 11 days. Ambient temperature was the greatest predictor of torpor bout duration, and food ingestion and night length also played a role. Unlike their wild counterparts, who rarely leave their hibernacula and do not feed during hibernation, DLC dwarf lemurs sporadically moved and ate. While demonstrating that captive dwarf lemurs are physiologically capable of hibernation, we argue that facilitating their hibernation serves both husbandry and research goals: first, it enables lemurs to express the biphasic phenotypes (fattening and fat depletion) that are characteristic of their wild conspecifics; second, by “renaturalizing” dwarf lemurs in captivity, they will emerge a better model for understanding both metabolic extremes in primates generally and metabolic disorders in humans specifically.

scholarly journals Previously unknown behavior in parasitic cuckoo females: male-like vocalization during migratory activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swetlana G. Meshcheryagina ◽  
Alexey Opaev
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Harmonic Spectrum ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Neck Extension ◽  
Migratory Activity ◽  
Call Production ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Combined Features ◽  
Female Call

Abstract Background In the last decade, enigmatic male-like cuckoo calls have been reported several times in East Asia. These calls exhibited a combination of vocal traits of both Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) and Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) advertising calls, and some authors therefore suggested that the enigmatic calls were produced by either Common × Oriental Cuckoo male hybrids or Common Cuckoo males having a gene mutation. However, the exact identity of calling birds are still unknown. Methods We recorded previously unknown male-like calls from three captive Oriental Cuckoo females, and compared these calls with enigmatic vocalizations recorded in the wild as well as with advertising vocalizations of Common and Oriental Cuckoo males. To achieve this, we measured calls automatically. Besides, we video-recorded captive female emitting male-like calls, and compared these recordings with the YouTube recordings of calling males of both Common and Oriental Cuckoos to get insight into the mechanism of call production. Results The analysis showed that female male-like calls recorded in captivity were similar to enigmatic calls recorded in the wild. Therefore, Oriental Cuckoo females might produce the latter calls. Two features of these female calls appeared to be unusual among birds. First, females produced male-like calls at the time of spring and autumn migratory activity and on migration in the wild. Because of this, functional significance of this call remained puzzling. Secondly, the male-like female call unexpectedly combined features of both closed-mouth (closed beak and simultaneous inflation of the ‘throat sac’) and open-mouth (prominent harmonic spectrum and the maximum neck extension observed at the beginning of a sound) vocal behaviors. Conclusions The Cuculus vocalizations outside the reproductive season remain poorly understood. Here, we found for the first time that Oriental Cuckoo females can produce male-like calls in that time. Because of its rarity, this call might be an atavism. Indeed, female male-like vocalizations are still known in non-parasitic tropical and apparently more basal cuckoos only. Therefore, our findings may shed light on the evolution of vocal communication in avian brood parasites.

scholarly journals Reintroduction of the Golden Conure (Guaruba guarouba) in Northern Brazil: Establishing a Population in a Protected Area

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
Marcelo Rodrigues Vilarta ◽  
William Wittkoff ◽  
Crisomar Lobato ◽  
Rubens de Aquino Oliveira ◽  
Nívia Gláucia Pinto Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Lines ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Territorial Disputes ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Viable Population ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Northern Brazil ◽  
Native Foods

Brazil has the highest number of parrots in the world and the greatest number of threatened species. The Golden Conure is endemic to the Brazilian Amazon forest and it is currently considered as threatened by extinction, although it is fairly common in captivity. Here we report the first reintroduction of this species. The birds were released in an urban park in Belem, capital of Para State, where the species was extinct more than a century ago. Birds were trained to recognize and consume local food and to avoid predators. After the soft-release, with food supplementation and using nest boxes, we recorded breeding activity in the wild. The main challenges before the release were the territorial disputes within the aviary and the predation by boa snakes. During the post-release monitoring the difficulties were the fast dispersion of some individuals and the dangers posed by anthropic elements such as power lines that caused some fatalities. Released birds were very successful at finding and consuming native foods, evading predators, and one pair reproduced successfully. Monitoring continues and further releases are programmed to establish an ecologically viable population.

scholarly journals Numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1740) ◽  
pp. 20160508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Benson-Amram ◽  
Geoff Gilfillan ◽  
Karen McComb
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Numerical Assessment ◽  
Individual Discrimination ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Assessment Skills ◽  
In The Wild

Playback experiments have proved to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. In particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the Order Carnivora. Additionally, playback experiments allow us to assess the importance of numerical information versus other ecologically important variables when animals are making adaptive decisions in their natural habitats. Here, we begin by reviewing what we know about quantity discrimination in carnivores from studies conducted in captivity. We then review a series of playback experiments conducted with wild social carnivores, including African lions, spotted hyenas and wolves, which demonstrate that these animals can assess the number of conspecifics calling and respond based on numerical advantage. We discuss how the wild studies complement those conducted in captivity and allow us to gain insights into why wild animals may not always respond based solely on differences in quantity. We then consider the key roles that individual discrimination and cross-modal recognition play in the ability of animals to assess the number of conspecifics vocalizing nearby. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in this area, highlighting in particular the need for further work on the cognitive basis of numerical assessment skills and experimental paradigms that can be effective in both captive and wild settings. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The origins of numerical abilities’.

First record of quadruplets in the musky ratkangaroo Hypsiprymnodon moschatus.

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
PM Johnson ◽  
S Lloyd ◽  
T Vallance ◽  
MDB Eldridge
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
First Record ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
North East ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

THE musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) is endemic to the tropical rainforests of north-east Queensland (Johnson and Strahan 1982). It is the smallest (510 ? 530 g) and most unusual member of the marsupial superfamily Macropodoidea (Dennis and Johnson 1995). Unlike other macropodoids, H. moschatus is frugivorous, diurnal, has an opposable first digit on the pes, a running quadrupedal gait and possesses a relatively unspecialised digestive tract (Johnson and Strahan 1982; Dennis 2002). It also differs from all other macropodoids in typically giving birth to multiple young, usually twins ? although single young and triplets are regularly reported both in the wild and in captivity (Troughton 1967; Johnson and Strahan 1982; Johnson et al. 1983; Dennis and Marsh 1997; Lloyd 2001). However, the birth of more than three young has not previously been observed in H. moschatus or any other macropodoid, even though all species possess four teats.

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