Tag Archives: Lion

The Three-Legged Lion Discovers an Unconventional Hunting Technique

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Jacob was fitted with a tracking collar and lost his left hind leg in a poacher’s trap.

alex burakowski

A lion that suffered the loss of a leg due to a poacher’s trap has developed a remarkable new hunting technique, surprising conservation experts.

Last year, Jacob, an 11-year-old lion residing in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, was observed swimming 1.5km (approximately 1 mile) through a river teeming with crocodiles, making this the longest recorded swim of its kind.

Typically, injured carnivores adapt by scavenging, stealing livestock, or, if fortunate, receiving assistance from their pride. However, Jacob, who has also lost an eye after an encounter with a buffalo, has only his younger brother Tib for support.

Many researchers believed he would eventually perish after losing his left hind leg in 2020. “However, he has demonstrated incredible resilience,” notes alexander braczkowski from the Cambra Lion Monitoring Project, supported by the Volcano Safari Partnership Trust, a Ugandan NGO dedicated to conservation and community progress.

Even Braczkowski, who has been observing Jacob since 2017, was astonished by his survival. Yet, the mystery has now been unraveled through thermal drone footage, revealing that this lion has begun to mimic the behavior of a leopard.

Unable to overpower his prey as a typical lion would, Jacob now ambushes them at short distances within dense foliage, employing stealth and agility.

According to Braczkowski, Jacob also hunts species typically avoided by other lions. The nocturnal footage has shown him hunting and successfully taking down 200kg wild pigs, either solo or in cooperation with his siblings.

“Jacob’s inability to sprint limits his ability to chase down prey,” Braczkowski noted. “It’s apparent that he has shifted his diet towards specific types of pigs. This adaptation further supports his leopard-like tactics and risk-taking behavior, but it’s essential for his survival, and it’s evidently working.”

Loss of limbs from traps is a “common” issue for big cats, according to Andrew Loveridge of Panthera, a non-profit organization focused on global wild cat conservation.

Jacob and his brother Tib wearing tracking collars

alex burakowski

Adaptation is also essential, he emphasized. Craig Packer from the University of Minnesota has studied lion behavior for decades, noting, “We’ve observed similar adaptive behavior in other lion populations, all of which had the advantage of four healthy limbs.”

However, as Braczkowski observes, the lions in Queen Elizabeth Park typically target large, agile prey like antelopes and buffalo.

“Sometimes, lions exhibit leopard-like behavior, such as climbing trees,” he remarks, referencing George Schaller and his groundbreaking fieldwork on Serengeti lions in the 1960s, which provided valuable insights into predator-prey dynamics.

Even the tree-climbing lions maintain distinct hunting modalities, Schaller adds, highlighting that lions referred to as tripods (those missing limbs) usually rely on their pride for survival.

Braczkowski has tracked Jacob during his swims across the Kazinga Strait multiple times over the past two years, noting an average daily distance of 1.73 kilometers, which, while less than a healthy lion, marks a significant achievement for an injured animal, potentially driven by an insufficiency of suitable prey or the quest for a mate.

Jacob’s novel hunting strategy could become a replicable behavior that might help combat declines in lion populations facing habitat loss, climate change, and human encroachment. Consequently, Jacob holds significant “symbolic and genetic” importance, according to Braczkowski.

Schaller remarked that Jacob represents a beacon of resilience: “He’s akin to a fighter jet in the natural world.”

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Explore Italy’s Central Apennine region for an intriguing overview of the principles and practicalities of rewilding.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

This Cute Bopping Sea Lion Likely Has Better Rhythm Than You!

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Recent studies have revealed that sea lions, specifically one named Ronan, possess a timing ability that surpasses many humans when it comes to music.

Ronan gained attention over a decade ago when she astonished researchers. Now, new findings indicate her sense of rhythm has not only remained stable but has actually improved.

At her most practiced tempo, she consistently stays within 15 milliseconds of the beat. For perspective, a typical blink occurs roughly every 150 milliseconds.

“Compared to other non-human animals, Ronan shows remarkable accuracy and consistency,” stated Professor Peter Cook, the lead author of the study and comparative neuroscientist at New College, Florida, in BBC Science Focus.

“However, Ronan’s accuracy and consistency have significantly improved over time.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29arkafwjia

Cook and his team initially trained Ronan to recognize rhythms in 2012, when she was just three years old. At that point, she was already a record-holding non-human beatkeeper.

Yet, some scientists were skeptical about whether her performance was on par with adult humans. Ronan demonstrated more variability between beats and tended to drift ahead at faster tempos while lagging behind at slower ones—contrary to humans who typically hit just before the beat.

“Most rhythm studies focus on adults who have years of informal rhythmic experience—like dancing or tapping their feet,” Cook explained.

“We evaluated Ronan when she was essentially a juvenile… Now that she’s a mature adult sea lion, how does she compare to humans?”

To explore this, the team asked undergraduate students from the University of California, Santa Cruz, to mimic Ronan’s head bobbing using large, fluid arm movements. Their movements were then compared to Ronan’s performance at three different tempos.

Surprisingly, she outperformed the students in both consistency and accuracy, ranking in the 99th percentile of a model simulating 10,000 individuals performing the same task.

The findings challenge the long-held belief that precise rhythmic synchronization relies on vocal learning, a trait shared by humans and certain birds, but not sea lions.

Additionally, the research implies that rhythmic perception may be deeply embedded in fundamental brain timing mechanisms.

“Rhythms create patterns in time, and the natural world is filled with such patterns,” Cook stated.

“Recognizing these patterns is advantageous for animals as it allows them to anticipate what follows and adjust their actions accordingly.”

“For instance, they can modify their swimming strokes to sync with wave patterns, reach for moving branches while trees shake, or arrange their vocal outputs to align or overlap with those of other animals.”

(L-R) co-authors Andrew Rouse, Peter Cook, Carson Hood, and California Sea Lion – Colleen Reichmut. NMFS 23554

Ronan’s rhythmic skills may open doors for further research. The team is currently examining whether she can track more complex and irregular patterns.

They are also employing game-based training to assess whether Ronan is a unique case or the beginning of something more widespread.

Ultimately, the question remains: will we see a sea lion performing live alongside a musician on stage?

“I believe we can teach a sea lion to maintain a basic 4/4 beat,” Cook remarked. “When we tested her with live music, Ronan adapted her rhythm dynamically like a band, even with tempo shifts.”

However, before anyone rushes to sign a record deal with Ronan, there’s a minor hurdle: “The sea lion only has one ‘hand’,” Cook noted. “And their flipper control isn’t quite suited for the precise movements required for playing hi-hats or bass drums.”

That said, Cook expressed enthusiasm about the possibility, adding, “It’s definitely something we want to explore, though I suspect the fish might need regular breaks.”

About Our Experts

Peter Cook is an associate professor of marine mammal science at New College, Florida. His research focuses on animal cognition and comparative neuroscience across various species. Cook is particularly interested in discovering new and ecologically effective methods for studying brain and behavior beyond traditional laboratory settings.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

15-Year-Old California Sea Lion Trainer Outshines Humans in Rhythm Skills

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Recent findings from the Institute of Marine Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz indicate that the capability to perceive time is not exclusive to humans.

Ronan is recognized as the most consistent and accurate mammalian beatkeeper in experimental conditions. Image credit: Joel Saltore.

While certain mammals and birds have demonstrated the ability to synchronize their movements to rhythmic cues during laboratory experiments, most vertebrate species show minimal evidence of beat synchronization.

Ronan, a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), was trained at the age of 3 to move his head in time with a metronome and has maintained this skill into adulthood.

“Despite extensive research involving a wide array of species, no comprehensive scientific agreement exists regarding whether complex stimuli perception, such as music and beat maintenance, is underpinned by unique biological mechanisms,” researchers noted.

“The most comprehensive comparative data set on sensorimotor synchronization actually originates from invertebrates, with certain insects like fireflies and crickets displaying rate-sensitive synchronization with signals pertinent to their species.”

“The precision and tempo range of these insects can rival human performance in synchronized rhythms.”

“However, unlike humans, who are proficient at synchronizing with a range of rhythmic stimuli, including music, invertebrate synchronization tends to be limited to a narrow scope of specific cues.”

“Studies of beat maintenance in non-human vertebrates primarily derive from the Psittacinae subfamily (parrots), yet these often exhibit lower consistency and accuracy compared to humans, making robust beat keeping challenging for other primates,” they added.

“An exceptional case is Ronan, who has been trained to perform continuous head bobbing in sync with metronomic sounds, illustrating the capability to adapt to new tempos and stimuli.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29arkafwjia

In their latest study, Dr. Cook and colleagues examined Ronan’s consistency in timing to snare drum beats at 112, 120, and 128 beats per minute (bpm).

The same beats were then presented to 10 undergraduate students aged 18 to 23.

The team assessed the participants’ timing accuracy using video tracking software, finding that Ronan’s overall timekeeping was less reliable and varied compared to human counterparts.

Ronan’s accuracy improved with tempo; at 128 bpm, his average with a tempo was 129 bpm (±2.94), while human subjects averaged 116.2 bpm (±7.34).

After the experiment, Ronan received toys filled with fish and ice as rewards.

This study examined only one trained sea lion and ten humans, necessitating further research to validate these findings through larger studies.

“The sensorimotor synchronization in sea lions appeared accurate, consistent, and sometimes outperformed that of a typical adult,” the researchers concluded.

“These results challenge the notion of unique neurobiological adaptations for maintaining human beats.”

The study’s findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports on May 1, 2025.

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PF Cook et al. 2025. Sensory motor synchronization in sea lions rivals that of humans. Sci Rep 15, 12125; doi:10.1038/s41598-025-95279-1

Source: www.sci.news

Ronan of Sea Lion Likely Outshines You at Keeping the Beat

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Meet Ronan, a California sea lion who probably has better rhythm than you do.

Researchers have demonstrated that Ronan, a resident at the Long Marine Lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was the first non-human mammal trained to keep the beat through movement to music. This took place back when Ronan was young, in 2013. Recently, scientists decided to reassess the skills of this now 15-year-old sea lion, revealing not only an enhancement in her ability to bob her head in sync with the music but also that she outperformed most humans in doing so.

“This ultimately shows that humans aren’t the only mammals that can sustain a beat,” said Tecumse Fitch, a cognitive biologist studying biomimetics at the University of Vienna, who was not involved in the new research. The findings were published on Thursday in Scientific Reports.

Parrots are known to keep the beat through their movements, and recent studies have highlighted similar rhythmic abilities in monkeys and other mammals such as rats. However, over a decade later, “the rhythmic abilities of sea lions are distinctly recognized among non-human vertebrates,” Dr. Fitch stated.

Researchers worked with Ronan for several months, focusing on enhancing her accuracy with the original tempos she had learned. They then compared her ability to maintain the beat now to when she was three years old.

The team evaluated Ronan’s ability to move her head to a tempo of 112, 120, and 128 beats per minute, contrasting her head movements with those of 10 individuals aged 18-23 moving their arms. “The hands function similarly to a sea lion’s head, and their arms resemble the necks of a sea lion in size, making it a valid comparison for measuring movement capabilities.”

Across all assessment parameters analyzed by Dr. Cook and his team, Ronan topped the class.

“Ronan outperformed everyone on every measure of accuracy and consistency,” stated Dr. Cook. “In all respects, she excelled beyond most people, truly setting herself apart.”

Ronan’s headbanging abilities sparked debate in 2013 regarding whether her skills could truly be compared to those of humans, as well as whether such behavior is common in the animal kingdom or restricted to species capable of learning complex vocalizations, like humans and parrots, which allow spontaneous rhythmic movement.

“What Ronan does appears indistinguishable from what humans are adept at,” Dr. Cook remarked. He believes that the new findings about Ronan’s capabilities further challenge the assumption that rhythmic timing is inherent only to vocal learners.

Some scientists challenge this conclusion.

Aniruddh D. Patel, a cognitive neuroscientist at Tufts University, maintains that the ability to naturally synchronize with music is exclusive to certain species that can inherently learn complex vocal patterns.

He suggests further research into the vocal learning abilities of sea lions would corroborate this hypothesis. Nonetheless, he emphasizes that the “crucial distinction” lies in the fact that Ronan has been trained to keep the beat.

Moving forward, Dr. Cook and his colleagues aim to investigate whether Ronan can maintain rhythm with less predictable beats.

“Can she adjust her tempo by speeding up or slowing down? Can she handle variations that aren’t steady?” Dr. Cook questioned. “These are things that humans excel at. Can non-humans do them?”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Ronan the Sea Lion: Keeping Time Better Than Humans

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Ronan, the sea lion, continues to keep the rhythm even after all these years.

She can create grooves with rocks and electronic music. However, her talent truly shines as she bobs along to classic hits like “Boogie Wonderland.”

“She’s absolutely nailing it,” said Peter Cook, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Florida, who has dedicated a decade to studying Ronan’s rhythmic talents, observing her shake her head in sync with tempo changes.

While many animals lack the ability to recognize the beat, humans, parrots, and some primates can. Ronan, however, is prompting scientists to reconsider what music means.

Rescued years ago, she rocketed to fame about a decade ago when researchers highlighted her musical abilities. Since she was three, she has called the Ocean Institute at the University of California, Santa Cruz her home, where she has assisted researchers, including Cook, in recognizing rhythms.

Ronan is part of a group of remarkable animals, including cockatoos, challenging the long-held belief that only humans excel in responding to music and identifying beats.

Notably, Ronan learned to dance to the beat without needing to learn how to sing or produce music.

“Previously, it was thought that only vocal learners, like humans and parrots, could discern beats,” noted Hugo Merchant, a researcher at the Institute of Neurobiology in Mexico.

However, after Ronan became a star, questions emerged regarding her sustained abilities. Was her previous acclaim a fluke? Could she even outperform humans in maintaining the beat?

A chef and fellow researchers devised a plan to tackle this question. Their findings, detailed in new research published in the journal Scientific Reports, confirm that Ronan remains a star.

This time, researchers focused on lab tempos using percussion instruments, rather than recorded music. During the study, Ronan shook her head to three distinct tempos: 112, 120, and 128 beats per minute. These tempos were unfamiliar to her, enabling scientists to test her adaptability to new rhythms.

Ten university students participated in a similar task, showcasing their abilities as well.

Ronan emerged as the top performer.

“No one outperformed Ronan across the various tests for beat keeping,” Cook shared, adding, “she’s significantly improved since childhood.”

Hencan Horning, a music cognition researcher at the University of Amsterdam and not involved in the study, stated that the findings reinforce Ronan’s status as one of the leading examples of animal musicality.

Researchers plan to train and evaluate other sea lions. Cook believes others might also have beat-keeping abilities, but Ronan remains a standout star performer.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Archaeologists claim Eswatini’s Lion Cave is the oldest ocher mine in the world

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Archaeologists say they have discovered the world’s oldest known evidence of intensive loess mining at least 48,000 years ago at Lion Cave in Ngwenya, in the landlocked southern African nation of Eswatini. .

Selected hand specimens of samples from sources included in the study: Ngwenya High Grade (AC), Ngwenya Low Grade (DF), Kubuta (G), Bulembu (HJ), Ruhorodum (K,L), Munyongane (M , N), Maroma (O). Scale bar – 1 cm. Image credit: McDonald’s others., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-53050-6.

Ocher is widely recognized as a red, yellow, or purple pigmented earth mineral, often confused with manganese oxide (black ocher), and its importance throughout human history has been debatable. there is no.

Records remain from ancient times, where it was extracted through intensive mining operations, transported over long distances, used in symbols and funerary expressions, and processed to enhance its properties and performance in complex paint mixtures. Masu.

It continues to hold widespread cultural significance in many descendant communities today.

However, the differences between ocher colors are not always obvious, and pigments that appear the same in color and texture often have different physicochemical properties.

“Ocher can be said to be the earliest pigment used by humans to depict the world,” said archaeologist Dr. Gregor Bader of the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen.

“We humans and other humans have been using red, yellow, and sometimes purple earth minerals for at least 500,000 years, and probably much longer.”

In the most comprehensive study to date of ocher use in Africa, Dr Bader and his colleagues investigated how this mineral was used south of the Sahara.

Based on 173 samples from 15 Stone Age sites, the researchers reconstructed the regional network of mineral selection, extraction, transport and use of ocher.

“We were interested in the entire processing chain of loess: from the selection of minerals from different geological formations, their extraction, and the mixing of other substances such as milk, fat, blood, and vegetable resins as binders to the loess. It’s an archaeological site,” Dr. Bader said.

“How was the knowledge of ocher extraction transmitted? Was there interaction between different hunter-gatherer groups? And are there regional or temporal differences?

This study shows that there was both a regional strategy for sourcing ocher and long-distance transport of important minerals through a network of different mineral deposits.

Archaeological investigations at 15 sites suggest the existence of long-term cultural continuity in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge regarding ocher extraction and use, including geological conditions and desirable physicochemical properties of mineral pigments. I’m doing it.

These communities of practice did not develop in isolation but were part of a broader system of relations influenced and mediated by social interactions such as technical learning, seasonal migration, exchange of material culture, and symbolic expression. It was a club.

“Our data support the hypothesis that hunter-gatherers in Stone Age Eswatini were highly mobile, sometimes traveling long distances to transport ocher pigments,” Bader said. said.

“It is noteworthy that such traditions continue to this day in Eswatini. For example, it is ethnographic that plant healers travel to collect mineral earth pigments for painting and healing ceremonies. known from research.

“Ocher is also considered an important part of the wedding ceremony. On the morning of the wedding, the bride is painted in red ocher and animal fat to signify her new status within the community.”

“Our current research shows that Eswatini researchers are in a leading position in the study of Stone Age loess resources, and provides an impressive demonstration that this country holds vast wealth of this important pigment. It shows.”

“In addition to elucidating the chain of loess exchange, we also used optically stimulated luminescence dating to show that Ngwenya’s Lion Cave is the oldest concentrated loess site in the world, dating back approximately 48,000 years. We have confirmed that this is known evidence of mining.”

“Furthermore, here we see some of the earliest evidence that humans were actively reshaping the environment.”

of findings Published in a magazine nature communications.

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BL McDonald’s others. 2024. Ocher communities of practice in Stone Age Eswatini. Nat Commune 15, 9201; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-53050-6

Source: www.sci.news

The World’s bravest lion manages to survive a history-making swim through waters infested with crocodiles

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Imagine swimming at night in a river filled with crocodiles and hippos. Sounds terrifying, right? Well, two lions in Uganda did just that earlier this year, and for the first time, Scientists captured this daring act on film. Click here to watch the footage.

Using a drone-mounted, high-resolution thermal imaging camera, Researchers from Griffith University’s Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, guided by Dr. Alexander Bratskovsky, captured the scene of two lions crossing Uganda’s Kazinga Channel in the middle of the night.

A remarkable lion named Jacob, who has faced numerous challenges, including losing his leg in a poaching incident, was one of the lions in the video captured by the researchers. Jacob was described as “the most tenacious lion in Africa.”

Jacob lost his leg in a metal trap during a poaching attempt. – Image credit: Alex Blaczkowski

Despite the risks of encountering crocodiles and hippos, Jacob and his brother Tib swam over a kilometer, displaying incredible resilience. The motivation behind this risky journey was likely the pursuit of finding a mate in the female-dominated system of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The brothers' first attempt at crossing is followed by a creature. – Image credit: Alex Braczkowski

While the river had a bridge connecting the two sides, the lions chose to swim due to human presence and past negative encounters. Understanding the behaviors of lions in such environments is crucial for their conservation.

About our experts

Alexander Bratskovsky is leading long-term research on African lions and other predators in Uganda’s national parks. Learn more about his work here. The study on Jacob and Tib’s swim, titled “Long-distance swims by African lions in Uganda,” was published in Ecology and Evolution.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com