A team of scientists recently observed an infestation of big-headed ants in East Africa. They learned that in areas with a large spread of these ants, lions are three times less likely to attack and kill zebras. And the reason is quite unusual.

When hunting zebras, lions use whistling-thorn trees for cover. The trees offer them protection from the sun while preventing zebras from seeing them until it’s too late. But the number of those trees is dwindling.

Elephants love snacking on whistling-thorn trees, but these trees usually have acacia ants protecting them. This species of ants bite and bothers elephants, who quickly give up and move on. However, big-headed ants are now taking over the territory of acacia ants but are not even remotely interested in protecting the trees, causing the elephants to tear them down.

“Because lions need cover to successfully stalk and ambush their prey, they are more exposed when there are fewer trees to hunker down behind, which seems to make it harder for them to successfully take down the zebra,” said Professor Todd Palmer of the University of Florida, who worked on the study.

Palmer adds that the spread of big-headed ants could have more consequences in the future. The whistling-thorn trees are also a source of food for other species, and their loss could significantly change the ecology of the area.

The post Ants Are Causing Lions to Hunt Zebras Less According to a Recent Study appeared first on Our Funny Little Site.

Shivani Bhalla, founder of an organization that promotes coexistence between humans and wildlife called Ewaso lions, moved to the Samburu region in Kenya in 2002, only to end up surprised about not seeing prides of lions. In fact, this is the only place in the world where you can see lions leading perfectly nice lives without a pride to back them up.

As she learned from the local people, there are around 50 lions living in the area but they don’t stick together. “Everyone keeps labeling lions as the only social cat, but they’re not really social here,” Bhalla tells National Geographic. Her research about the lions has been published in her Ph.D. dissertation.

Some of the reasons not to form prides include not having to share food, and there’s definitely no abundance of it in Samburu. Also, the lions living there would have a hard time maintaining a defined territory as everything is patched up among protected areas and community areas. Surprisingly, the arrangement these animals came up with is actually the best they could hope for.

The post This is the Only Place in the World Where Lions Live Alone appeared first on Our Funny Little Site.

A team of scientists recently observed an infestation of big-headed ants in East Africa. They learned that in areas with a large spread of these ants, lions are three times less likely to attack and kill zebras. And the reason is quite unusual.

When hunting zebras, lions use whistling-thorn trees for cover. The trees offer them protection from the sun while preventing zebras from seeing them until it’s too late. But the number of those trees is dwindling.

Elephants love snacking on whistling-thorn trees, but these trees usually have acacia ants protecting them. This species of ants bite and bothers elephants, who quickly give up and move on. However, big-headed ants are now taking over the territory of acacia ants but are not even remotely interested in protecting the trees, causing the elephants to tear them down.

“Because lions need cover to successfully stalk and ambush their prey, they are more exposed when there are fewer trees to hunker down behind, which seems to make it harder for them to successfully take down the zebra,” said Professor Todd Palmer of the University of Florida, who worked on the study.

Palmer adds that the spread of big-headed ants could have more consequences in the future. The whistling-thorn trees are also a source of food for other species, and their loss could significantly change the ecology of the area.

The post Ants Are Causing Lions to Hunt Zebras Less According to a Recent Study appeared first on Our Funny Little Site.

Shivani Bhalla, founder of an organization that promotes coexistence between humans and wildlife called Ewaso lions, moved to the Samburu region in Kenya in 2002, only to end up surprised about not seeing prides of lions. In fact, this is the only place in the world where you can see lions leading perfectly nice lives without a pride to back them up.

As she learned from the local people, there are around 50 lions living in the area but they don’t stick together. “Everyone keeps labeling lions as the only social cat, but they’re not really social here,” Bhalla tells National Geographic. Her research about the lions has been published in her Ph.D. dissertation.

Some of the reasons not to form prides include not having to share food, and there’s definitely no abundance of it in Samburu. Also, the lions living there would have a hard time maintaining a defined territory as everything is patched up among protected areas and community areas. Surprisingly, the arrangement these animals came up with is actually the best they could hope for.

The post This is the Only Place in the World Where Lions Live Alone appeared first on Our Funny Little Site.