Fake Lion Poop and Predator Sounds Re-instill Fear In African Antelope

A bushbuck hides out in a thicket. Scientists say that the animals have become less fearful in recent years without predators, and started grazing in places they'd normally never venture. (Credit: Robert M. Pringle) In the savannah woodlands of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park stalks an animal that resembles a cross between a goat and a deer. The antelopes known as bushbuck sport the white speckles, russet coats, and large eyes and ears of deer, but stand just two to three feet tall with a pair of dark, twisting horns that grow straight out of males’ heads. These secretive, forest-dwelling ungulates take cover from leopards, hyenas and wild dogs in the protection of trees and a network of escape trails. But since a civil war wiped out predators in the area, bushbuck have become fearless. The animals have boldly ventured beyond the safety of the woods into treeless grasslands to graze. ...