Eavesdropping and Risk Assessment Between Lions, Spotted Hyenas and African Wild Dogs

Abstract

Vocalizing allows rapid transmission of detailed information beyond line of sight. However, the risk of eavesdropping by unintended receivers means there is also a potential cost to any vocalization. For fugitive species such as African wild dogs the potential cost of attracting dangerous competitors as eavesdroppers is especially significant. Experiments presented here demonstrate that eavesdropping lions Panthera leo were highly motivated to approach playbacks of wild dog Lycaon pictus vocalizations. As lions will kill any wild dogs they can catch, wild dogs risk paying high costs should their calls be detected. Lions were less likely to approach playbacks of spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta whoops, with responses split according to gender: male lions remained quick to approach hyena whoops, but females without accompanying males typically did not approach. Although hyenas seemed at least as capable as lions of detecting playbacks of wild dog calls, they were significantly less likely to subsequently approach them. Analogous to female lions faced with hyenas, the reluctance of hyenas to approach wild dogs may well derive from an assessment of the potential risks involved. We consider the hypothesis that wild dog twitters display counter‐adaptations against eavesdropping, but suggest that this species may best limit the risk of detection by avoiding areas where they are most likely to be overheard by lions.

Long-distance communication facilitates cooperation among wild spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta

“…At least one hyaena came to the broadcast site in 25 of the 40 trials (63%), and the mean number of respondents for successful call-ins was five. As in previous studies (Ogutu & Dublin, 1998; Ogutu et al, 2005; Webster, McNutt, & McComb, 2010), hyaenas responded strongly to the call-ins and consistently arrived at broadcast sites behaving as though they regarded the stimuli as evidence of a highly salient event. Call-ins drew hyaenas from more than a kilometre away (as observed in multiple trials where distant resting hyaenas were observable from the broadcast site).…”

Public Information Influences Sperm Transfer to Females in Sailfin Molly Males

“…Eavesdropping is a widespread phenomenon and occurs in many different species like mammals (e.g. [23]–[25]), birds (e.g. [26]–[30]), amphibians [31], fish (e.g.…”

Cheetah Reunion – The Challenge of Finding Your Friends Again

“…Attracting unwanted attention can potentially be deadly. Larger predators often kill smaller competitor species and playbacks of African wild dog vocalisation have shown that lion actively move towards their location [40], while African wild dogs move away from lion calls [41]. Considering the vulnerability of cheetah to a range of predators it is unlikely that long periods of vocalisation are used for long distance communication and the chirping sound carries far less than lion roars [21] or wolf howls [42].…”