The fastest and most manoeuvrable terrestrial animals are found in savannah habitats, where predators chase and capture running prey. Hunt outcome and success rate are critical to survival, so both predator and prey should evolve to be faster and/or more manoeuvrable. Here we compare locomotor characteristics in two pursuit predator-prey pairs, lion-zebra and cheetah-impala, in their natural savannah habitat in Botswana. We show that although cheetahs and impalas were universally more athletic than lions and zebras in terms of speed, acceleration and turning, within each predator-prey pair, the predators had 20% higher muscle fibre power than prey, 37% greater acceleration and 72% greater deceleration capacity than their prey. We simulated hunt dynamics with these data and showed that hunts at lower speeds enable prey to use their maximum manoeuvring capacity and favour prey survival, and that the predator needs to be more athletic than its prey to sustain a viable success rate.

Seasonal fluctuations in water availability cause predictable changes in the profitability of habitats in tropical ecosystems, and animals evolve adaptive behavioural and spatial responses to these fluctuations. However, stochastic changes in the distribution and abundance of surface water between years can alter resource availability at a landscape scale, causing shifts in animal behaviour. In the Okavango Delta, Botswana, a flood-pulsed ecosystem, the volume of water entering the system doubled between 2008 and 2009, creating a sudden change in the landscape. We used African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) to test the hypotheses that seasonal habitat selection would be related to water availability, that increased floodwater levels would decrease forage abundance and affect habitat selection, and that this would decrease buffalo resting time, reduce reproductive success and decrease body condition. Buffalo selected contrasting seasonal habitats, using habitats far from permanent water during the rainy season and seasonally-flooded habitats close to permanent water during the early and late flood seasons. The 2009 water increase reduced forage availability in seasonally-flooded habitats, removing a resource buffer used by the buffalo during the late flood season, when resources were most limited. In response, buffalo used drier habitats in 2009, although there was no significant change in the time spent moving or resting, or daily distance moved. While their reproductive success decreased in 2009, body condition increased. A protracted period of high water levels could prove detrimental to herbivores, especially to smaller-bodied species that require high quality forage. Stochastic annual fluctuations in water levels, predicted to increase as a result of anthropogenically-induced climate change, are likely to have substantial impacts on the functioning of water-driven tropical ecosystems, affecting environmental conditions within protected areas. Buffer zones around critical seasonal resources are essential to allow animals to engage in compensatory behavioural and spatial mechanisms in response to changing environmental conditions.

Limited mapping of migrations hampers conservation

In many social species, groups of animals defend a shared territory against rival conspecifics. Intruders can be detected from a variety of cues, including faecal deposits, and the strength of response is expected to vary depending on the identity of the rival group. Previous studies examining differences in response to neighbour and stranger groups have focused on the immediate response to the relevant cues. Here, we investigated how simulated intrusions of rival groups affect both immediate responses and post-inspection movement patterns. To do so, we used a faecal translocation experiment at latrine sites within the territories of dwarf mongoose Helogale parvula groups. Immediate responses were adjusted to the level of threat, with greater scentmarking behaviour, time spent at the latrine and group-member participation when groups were presented with faecal matter from out-group rivals relative to control (own-group and herbivore) faeces. Subsequent movement of the group was also affected by threat level, with a decrease in speed and distance covered following simulated intrusions by out-group rivals compared to control conditions. However, there were no significant differences in immediate responses or post-latrine movement patterns when comparing simulated neighbour and stranger intrusions. These results indicate that territorial intrusions can elicit not just an immediate change in behaviour but more farreaching consequences in terms of movement dynamics. They also raise the possibility that neighbour-stranger discrimination predictions are not necessarily as clear-cut as previously described.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are increasingly being used recreationally, commercially and for wildlife research, but very few studies have quantified terrestrial mammalian reactions to UAS approaches. We used two Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAS to approach seven herbivore species in the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana, after securing the relevant permissions. We recorded responses to 103 vertical and 120 horizontal approaches, the latter from three altitudes above ground level (AGL). We ran mixed logistic regressions to identify factors triggering (i) any response and (ii) an evasive response. We included effects of activity, altitude, direction of approach, distance, habitat, herd type, herd size, other species, target species, time, VTOL type and wind strength. Response triggers were linked to altitude, distance, habitat and target species. Elephant (Loxodonta africana), giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and zebra (Equus quagga) were most affected by VTOL approach, impala (Aepyceros melampus) and lechwe (Kobus leche) were least responsive, and tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus) displayed intermediate sensitivity. VTOLs flown lower than 60 m AGL and closer than 100 m horizontal distance from target animals triggered behavioural responses in most species. Enforced regulations on recreational UAS use in wildlife areas are necessary to minimise disturbance to terrestrial mammals.

1. Nearly 90% of the world's large herbivore diversity occurs in Africa, yet there is a striking dearth of information on the movement ecology of these organisms compared to herbivores living in higher latitude ecosystems. 2. The environmental context for movements of large herbivores in African savanna ecosystems has several distinguishing features. African large herbivores move in landscapes with high spatiotemporal variability, low predictability, seasonal restrictions in surface water as well as food resources, and exposure to a diverse assemblage of competitors, predators, and pathogens. These features influence mobility, diel activity routines, home-range fidelity, and exposure to predation. 3. We review the knowledge that has been gained about the movements of African herbivores from Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry and identify important gaps in knowledge that exist. Topics addressed include seasonal movement patterns, daily activity schedules, space utilisation, water dependency, responses to risks of predation, pathogen transmission, social affiliations, and local population density determination. 4. While the growing number of GPS telemetry studies has addressed a wide range of topics in Africa, they remain fragmentary in terms of places and species represented. Most research has been focussed on three species, and practices for data sharing and analysis should be improved. African landscapes are changing perhaps faster than any other region on Earth, with rapidly expanding human populations, massive infrastructure development projects, and changes in climatic regimes. There is a crucial need to establish relationships between herbivore movements and their changing environments, especially in Africa where most of the world's large herbivore diversity resides.

Large mammals that live in arid/desert environments can cope with seasonal and local variations in rainfall, food and climate 1 by moving long distances, often without reliable water or food en route. An animal's capacity for this long distance travel is substantially dependent on the rate of energy utilisation and hence heat production during locomotion-the cost of transport, COT 2-4. Terrestrial COT is much higher than for flying (7.5 times) and swimming (20 times) 4. Terrestrial migrants are usually large 1,2,3 with anatomical specialisations for economical locomotion 5-9 because COT reduces with increasing size and limb length 5,6,7. Here we used GPS tracking collars 10 with movement and environmental sensors to show that blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus, 220 kg) living in a hot arid environment in Northern Botswana walked up to 80 km over five days without drinking. They predominantly travelled during the day and locomotion appeared unaffected by temperature and humidity although some behavioural thermoregulation was apparent. We measured power and efficiency of work production (mechanical work and heat production) during cyclic contractions of intact muscle biopsies from flexor carpi ulnaris of wildebeest and domestic cows (Bos taurus, 760 kg), a comparable sedentary ruminant. The energetic costs of isometric contraction (activation and force generation) in wildebeest and cows were similar to published values for smaller mammals. Wildebeest muscle was substantially more efficient (62.6%) than the same muscle from substantially larger cows (41.8%) and comparable measurements made in smaller mammals (mouse 34% 11 , rabbit 27%). These are the first direct energetic measurements on intact muscle fibres from large mammals and we use them to model the contribution of high working efficiency of wildebeest muscle to minimising thermoregulatory challenge during their long migrations under hot arid conditions. We set out to test the hypothesis that wildebeest undertake long-range locomotion from grazing sites to water sources and that their muscle is optimised to deliver a low COT. We chose blue wildebeest living in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in Botswana because water is sparse and in known locations and grazing limited. Wildebeest were captured by darting from a helicopter and fitted with tracking collars of our own design 10 containing GPS, 3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer, a humidity sensor and a black globe thermometer 12 (to measure combined effect of solar radiation, air temperature and air velocity for the animal) (Fig. 1a, Methods). Collar mass was 1050 g, 0.5% of body mass. After 18 months collars released automatically, dropoff failures were recovered by re-darting, and 17 of the 20 deployed collars were recovered (to date) Barclay for helping us fabricate the thermocouple elements. Field assistants Naomi Terry and Megan Claase. Anna Wilson for logistical support and editorial contributions. Michael Flyman, Department of Wildlife and National Parks for his support and enthusias...

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