Moving Next Door

In the Mara, when male hyenas are between two and five years of age, they will leave the clan that they were born into (natal clan). The males are not kicked out of their natal clan, but in order to have breeding opportunities, they will need to immigrate to another clan. Over our years of research, we have found that males often move to a neighboring clan or a clan that is just one over.

One of my favorite things to see are our natal males, checking out and moving to another clan that we study. This is very exciting because we do not know where most of our immigrant males have come from or any details from their past. However, we have known these males since birth. We know their mother, natal rank, and many other valuable details.

Here are a few of them

1. Wailing Wall: Wawa was born into our Serena North clan. His mom was LCS who was a very low ranking female. Wawa has beaten the odds and successfully dispersed to the neighboring Happy Zebra clan, which we study as well.

Wawa as a cub out on an expedition with some adult males.

2. Strummer: Strummer's mom was Arrow, a mid-ranking female in our Serena North clan. Strummer has dispersed to our Serena South clan.

Strummer as a sub-adult before he immigrated.  

3. Voyager: Voya and his brother Gazr were both born into Serena South clan. Their mom, Komo, was the daughter of the matriarch and quite high ranking. Both boys have recently immigrated to Serena North clan. We are interested to see if both boys stay or if one will eventually move to another clan.

Voya as young cub.

4. Katana: Katana was born into Happy Zebra clan. His mom was and still is the matriarch of Happy Zebra. Katana first seemed to be settling into our Serena South clan, but then he changed his mind and ended up in our Serena North clan.

Katana looking handsome.

Hyena Tinder

Otis

Main Doc, 3 

Love to travel? Swipe right! Roaming the territories is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve been seen on Lion Hill, near Fig Tree, and even all the way out to Fisi Camp! Come with me and have an adventure.

Vancouver

 

KCM, 4

I love to take long walks by the Talek river and watch brilliant Mara sunsets every night. Also, not to brag, but my spots are pretty darn beautiful if I do say so myself. Hit me up if you’d like an in-person look ;)

Jean Grey

 

Pond, 4

I’m originally from the distant Fig Tree clan and I’m looking forward to getting to know you Talek West females.

Abidjan 

 

KCM, 2

Care to share a nice fresh wildebeest carcass? I’m your male! Swipe right and we’ll get the hunt started.

Khartoum

 

Main Doc, 8 

I’ve been around the block a few times but don’t let that fool you, I can fend off a clan war with the best of them. My spots may be a little faded but my teeth are as sharp as ever!

Mara Magic

Hey friends and family of the Mara Hyena Project, my name is Jess and I’m the newest RA on the Serena side of the Mara. I graduated from the University of Florida in 2016 (Go Gators!) and then spent one year studying olive baboon behavior in Laikipia, Kenya and one year studying the reproductive ecology of the little known Kinda baboon in Kasanka National Park, Zambia. The big switch from primates to carnivores has been incredibly challenging and rewarding in more ways than one, most notably through a little phenomenon we call Mara Magic. Unlike Trail Magic, the unexpected acts of kindness you come across while hiking, Mara Magic is a gift bestowed upon you by the Mara itself. It can be something as simple as a playful pile of cubs at sunrise or as fantastic as an all night lion-hyena carcass session. Here are some of the incredible instances of Mara Magic I’ve experienced in my first few weeks here. 

Day 1: We stumble upon a jackal with the upper half of an adult impala

Day 7: I’m asked to fill a spot in a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Mara

Day 10: My first day transcribing, we stumble upon a Happy Zebra carcass session and I get a crash course in aggressive behaviors

 

 Day 13: A buffalo carcass turns into a late-night obs with the infamous Scar and his brothers

Day 20: On RA Emily’s last morning obs, we find a hyena mob 30 strong chasing off a lioness

All of this, not to mention the cubs and my coworkers who make my heart sing daily, make me feel remarkably lucky to be a part of this project. I hope to share these little pieces of Mara Magic with you throughout the year on this blog and on the project twitter (@MSUHyenas) which I've just started up. 

Cheers! 

Talek's Newest Member

Hello fellow fisi fanatics! I’m Emily, the newest RA for for Talek camp and I’m stoked to announce that I’ve successfully made it through my first month in the field! I started with the project my freshman year of college volunteering as a research assistant for then PhD candidate Dave Green doing secondary carnivore analysis. Starting my sophomore year I was supervised by PhD candidate Zach Laubach studying maternal care behaviors in our two populations of hyenas. Like many of the other RA’s, I went on BEAM and fell in love with the Mara and was determined to return as soon as possible. Seventeen days after graduation I hopped on a plane and did just that!

 This first month in the field has blown me away. I’ve seen a cheetah take down a full grown male impala right in front of the car, gained a healthy respect (and more fear) for elephants and buffalo, witnessed my first hyena death, learned how to drive in a literal wall of water, and begun to love and learn the quicks of the hyenas that I’ve read about in the notes for 4 years. I cannot wait to see what this year holds in store for me (and our hyenas) and am beyond blessed to get to spend it in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. 

Until next time, kwaheri!

Meet PITU (aka Mouse) - my favorite hyena. My love for him almost rivals my love for my cat (but not quite). 

Hyena Almanac

As my time in the field comes to a close, I thought about what I would want to know the most after I leave. I came to the conclusion that I would want to know about the hyenas, who was born, who had died, what new lineages had been created in the time that I had left. To that end I am posting our clan lists that list all the hyenas that we currently study in Talek. The breakdown of this list is thus: the top left name on the list is the highest ranking hyena, each one below the other is directly one rank below; each indent also represents a generation; Red highlighted names indicate deceased hyenas; their full name, lab code, sex, and birth date is listed; immigrant males are listed at the bottom of the list and go from oldest and thus highest ranking to newest immigrant male.

Main Doc Talek West Clan List (as of 25 Feb 2018)

¹BUAR is the alpha female, and she and her offspring are higher ranking than HEL.

Murphy – MRPH (25 June 96) – f

                  ¹Buenos Aires – BUAR (18 Dec 09) – f

                        Lumen – LUME (17 Dec 17) - ?

                        Slug – SLUG (12 Jun 17) - M

                        Hertz – HRTZ (19 Jul 16) - m

                        Nanosecond – NANO (19 Jul 16) - f

                        Joule – JOUL (20 Jun 15) – f

                              Emerald – EMRA (7 Aug 17) – M

                        Kilometer – KILO (20 Jun 15) – m

                        Knot – KNOT (23 Aug 14) – f

                              Bowline - BOWL (21 Aug 17) - F

                        Megabyte – BYTE (12 Jan 13) – f

                              Bruschetta – BRET (31 Oct 16) – m

                              Calamari – LARI (31 Oct 16) – m

                        Decimeter – DECM (12 Jan 13) – f

                              Super 8 Motel – MOTL (13 Dec 17)

                              Ritz – RITZ (12 Jan17) - m

                              Hilton – HITO (20 Jun 15) – f

                                    Iron Man – IRON (15 Mar 18)

                                    Captain America – CAP (15 Mar 18)

         Helios – HEL (1 Feb 06) – f

                  Cristo Redentor – CRST (28 Oct 16) - m

                  Rio Negro – RION (29 Apr 14) – m

                  Tierra Del Fuego – TIRA (29 Apr 14) – m

                  ¹Buenos Aires – BUAR (18 Dec 09) – f

                  Amazon – AMAZ (15 Feb 09) – f

                        Anemone – MENO (26 Jan 17) - m

                        Medusazoa - MDSA (26 Jan 17) - f

                        PortugueseManofWar – POW (27 Dec 15) –m

                        Urchin – URC (27 Dec 15) – m

                        Shrimp – SHMP (30 Nov 14) – m

                  Atacama – ATAC (15 Feb 09) – f

                        Myth – MYTH (4 Jul 16) – m

                        Legend – LGND (4 Jul 16) - f

                        Fairytale – FAY (28 Jan 14) – f

                              Bellatrix – BTRX (09 Feb 18) - ?

                              Regulus – REG (09 Feb 18) - ?

                              Dolohov – DOLO (14 Jan 17) - f

         Morpheus – MOS (18 Feb 03) – f

                  Magenta – MGTA (10 Jan 09) – f

                        Pikachu – PCHU (31 Aug 17) - ?

                        Charizard – CHZD (31 Aug 17) - ?

                        Onix – ONIX (30 Sep 15) – m 

                        Umbreon – UMBR (23 Mar 13) – f

                              Marceline – MRCI (19 Nov 16) - m

                        Jolteon – JLT (23 Mar 13) – m

                        Togepi – TGPI (3 Jan 12) – f

                              Cheesy Quiche – CHQ (DOB)

                              Fritatta – FRTA (3 Nov 16) - f

         Adonis – ADON (20 Mar 01) – f (KCM)

                  Twister – TWST (31 Mar 11) – f

                        Leo – LEO (25 May 17) – F

                        Gemini – GEM (25 May 17) - F

                        Pisces – PCES (02 Dec 13) – f

                              Tiramisu – MISU (27 Dec 16) - F

         Artemis - ART (24 Mar 00) – f

                  Maasai – MAA (12 Oct 12) – f

                        Daffodil – DILF (11 Aug 17) - M

                        Tulip – TULP (11 Aug 17) - ?

                        Tiger Lily – TGLY (17 Oct 16) - m

                        Flaming Lily – FLIL (28 Feb 15) – f

                              Green Pigeon – GPGN (29 Oct 17) - ?

         Borana – BORA (23 Dec 10) – f

                        Shoka – SHOK (7 June 2017) - M

                        Panga – PNGA (7 June 2017) - F

                        Mkuki – MUKI (11 May 15) – m

                        Gorfa – GOFA (08 Dec 13) – f

                              Lagomorpha – LAG (23 May 2017) - M                                                 

                              Artiodactyla – ARTI (23 May 2017)  - M

         Athena – ATH (20 Nov 98) – f

                  ZC (13 Mar 01) – f

                        Gucci – GUCI (3 Mar 04) – f

                              Ziti – ZITI (3 Apr 10) – m

                              Alfredo – ALFE (5 Jan 09) – f (Pond)

                                    Trunks – TNKS (15 Mar 13) – f

                                                Jean Shorts  - JORT (22 Sep 17) –

                                                High Waisted - HIWA – (22 Sep 17) -

                                                Daisy Dukes – DDS (11-Oct-16) - f

Moon Pie – MP (23 Jul 94) – f

         Falafel – FFL (28 June 03) – f

                  Mavi – MAVI (25 Nov 16) - f

                  McGuire – MCG (25 Nov 16) - M

                  Acne – ACNE (06 June 15) – f

                  Nudie – NUDI (06 June 15) – f

                  Carhartt – CAHA (31 Mar 14) – m

                  Chicos – CHCO (22 Jan 13) – f

                        Peaceful warrior – PCFL (DOB) –

                        Half Moon – HFMN (DOB) -

                        Lord of the Dance – LORD (22 Oct 16) - M

                        Child’s Pose – CHLD (22 Oct 16) - m

                  Wrangler – WRAN (13 Jan 10) – f

                        Jambo – JMBO (8 may 2017) - F

                        Hola – HOLA (8 may 2017) - M

                        Degemermat – DEGE (8 Sep 14) – m

         Yogurt – YOG (20 Nov 01) – f (KCM)

                  Neon – NEON (26 Dec 10) – f

                        Deepwest Hotel – DPWT (27 Oct 17) - ?

                        Jacinta Hotel – CINA (27 Oct 17) - ?

                        Tawfiq – TIQ (28 Oct 16) - M

                        Glory General Shop – GLO (28 Oct 16) - f

                        G&Gs – GNG (23 Mar 14) – m

                  Argon – ARG (20 Oct 05) – f

                        Wrath – WRTH (28 Oct 12) – f

                              Grace Shelby – GRCE (18 Sep 17) - ?

                              Buffy the Vampire Slayer – BUFY (7 Oct 16) – m

                              Detective Olivia Benson – BENS (7 Oct 16) - F

                        Lust – LUST (6 Sep 11) – f

                              Luxy – LUXY (3 Feb 17) - f

                              OK Cupid – CUPI (3 Feb 17) - f

Bailey – BAIL (4 Jan 92) – f

         Baez – BAEZ (16 Oct 04) – f

                  Simone Biles – SIMO (28 Oct 16) - f

                  Tamika Catchings – TAMI (29 Mar 15) – m

                  Kerri Strug – SRG (29 Mar 15) – f

                  Hope Solo – HOPE (30 Mar 14) – m

         Hendrix – HEX (4 Mar 03) – f

                  Adidas – ADS (11 Feb 15) – m

                  Merrell – MERL (21 Jul 13) – f

                        Beaker – BEKR (4 Nov 17) - ?

                        Erlenmeyer Flask – ERL (4 Nov 17) - ?

                        Pipette – PIP (31 Oct 16) - m

                        Petri Dish – PTRI (31 Oct 16) - ?

Immigrant males:

                  Juba – JUBA

                  Gaza – GAZA

                  El Paso – ELPO

                  Dodoma – DDMA

                  Khartoum – KHTM

                  Kennett Square – KESQ

                  Kapenguria – KAPE

                  Traverse City – TC

                  Lusaka – SAKA

                  Copenhagen – CHAG

                  Brussels – BRSL

                  Milwaukee – MKE

                  Knoxville – KNOX

                  Marquette – MARQ

                  Waban – WABA

                  Otis Alexander Sudeikis – OTIS (31 Jan 15) (MD)

 

KCM Talek West Clan List (as of 12 May 2018)

                        *Princess Buttercup – PBUT (4 Jul 13) – f

                              Ice Needles – ICEN (19 May 17) - ?

                              Snow – SNOW (19 May 17) - ?

                              Hail – HAIL (29 Dec 15) - f

                        *Tiana – TIAN (4 Jul 13) – f

                              Bindi – BIND (29 Aug 15) - f

Murphy – MRPH (25 June 96) – f

         Adonis – ADON (20 Mar 01) – f

                  Risk – RISK (28 Jun 16) - M

                  Clue – CLUE (28 Jun 16) - ?

                  Trouble – TRUB (15 Feb 15) - ?

                  Parcheesi – PARC (22 Jul 08) – f

                        Eowyn – WYN (3 Oct 16) - ?

                        Arwen –REN (3 Oct 16) - ?

                        *Princess Buttercup – PBUT (4 Jul 13) – f

                        *Tiana – TIAN (4 Jul 13) – f

         Pan—PAN (20 May 04) – f

                  Satyr – STYR (16 Oct 11) – f

                        Lightly Fried Swordfish Fillet - SORD (14 Feb 16) - f

                  Harpy – HRPY (29 Oct 09) – f

                        Dynamite Roll – DYNO (19 Jul 17)

                        Rainbow Roll – RNBO (19 Jul 17)

                        Kani – KANI (29 Jan 16) - F

                        Unagi – UNAG (12 Mar 14) – f

                              Teeny Weeny – TW (23 Dec 16) - ?

                              Munchkin – MNKN (23 Dec 16) - ?

                  Centaur – CEN (1 Mar 08) – f

                        Burger – BRGR (30 Oct 11) – f

                              Arby’s – ARBY (25 Apr 17) - M

                              Wendy’s – WNDY (25 Apr 17) - ?

                              McDonald’s – MCDS (01 Dec 14) – m

         Loki—LOKI (20 Apr 08) – f

                  Tatooine – TATO (25 Nov 12) – f

                        Sweet Potato – SWPO (?) - ?

         Morpheus – MOS (18 Feb 03) – f

                  Crimson – CRMS (19 Dec 10) – f

                        Cyberman – CYBR (20 Sep 13) – f

                              Rupert – RPRT (30 Mar 17) - ?

                              Richard Hatch – HACH (12 Jan 16) - m

                  Magenta – MGTA (10 Jan 09) – f (MD)

                        Oddish – ODD (3 Jan 12) – f

                              Tenacity – TENA (2 Aug 15) - M

                  Aquamarine – AQUA (17 Apr 06) – f (Pond)

                        Ted Williams – TED (30 Oct 10) – f

                              Galana River – LANA (17 Oct 16) - ?

                              Athi River – ATHI (17 Oct 16) - ?

                              Malewa River – LEWA (12 Jul 15) – m

                              Kerio River – KERO (12 Jul 15) – ?

         Athena – ATH (20 Nov 98) – f

                  ZC (13 Mar 01) – f

                        Gucci – GUCI (3 Mar 04) – f

                              Gelato – GEL (5 Jan 09) – f

                                    Treat Street – TRST (13 Dec 17) -

                                    Moomer’s – MOO (22 Jun 16) - f

                                    Cold Stone Creamery – CREM (22 Jun 16) - f

                                    Yogurt Land – YOLA (31Jan15)m 

                               

Moon Pie – MP (23 Jul 94) – f

         Baba Ganoush – BAB (30 Oct 04) – f

                  Dogpile – DOGP (15 FEB 17) - ?

                  DuckDuckGo – DUGO (09 Sept15) – ?

                  WolframAlpha – WAMA (09 Sep 15) – m

         Falafel – FFL (28 June 03) – f (MD)

                  TILT (20 Jul 08) – f

                        Blue Ivy – BIVY (27 Jun 16) - f

         Yogurt – YOG (20 Nov 01) – f

                  Flourine – FLUR (29 Oct 16) F

                  Chlorine – CLRN (26 Apr 15) - f

                  Balloon – BLLN (01 Apr 14) – f

Navaho – NAV (7 Nov 92) – f

         Roosevelt – ROOS (2 Mar 07) – f

                  Kim Jong-un – KIMJ (1 Dec 17)

                  Hastings Kamuzu Banda – BNDA (17 Apr 15) - ?

                  Yahya Jammeh – JAME (17 Apr 15) - m

                  Gaddafi – GDFI (25 Nov 12) – m

         Carter – CART (5 Dec 05) – f (Pond)

                  Donkey Kong – DK (10-Mar-11) – f

                        Son of a B! – SOB (19 Feb 17) - ?

                        Eureka! – EREK (26 Jul 15) - f

                        Holy cow! – HOCO (26 Jul 15) - ?

                        Oh my god! –OMG (9 Dec 13) – ?

                        Gee whiz! – GWIZ (9 Dec 13) – ?

                              Cash – CSH (24 Jul 17)

                              Mpesa – PESA (24 Jul 17)

Immigrant males:

                  Nassau – NASS

                  Mwanza – MAZA

                  Abidjan – ABID  

                  Vancouver – COUV

                  Osaka – OSA

                  Kinshasa – KISH

                  Pica – PICA (21 Feb 14) (MD)

                  Taurus – TRUS (2 Dec 13) (MD)

Subs and cubs with Unknown Parentage

         Survey – SRVY (03 Sep 14) - ?

         Clarity - CLTY (30 Jun 15) – m

         Rosetta – RSTA (25 Jun 15) - f

         Cypher - PHER (5 Apr 15) – m

         Ebony – EBNY (15 Dec 16) - M

         Bullet – BULL  (19 Feb 17) –M

         Skip – SKP (02Jan17) - ?

         Boxy – BOXY (03Apr17)  - ?

         Fred – FRD (01Apr17)  - ?

         Bean – BAN (19 Sep 17)

         Auggie – AUGG (12 Sep 17)

         Simple – SMPL (7 May 17)

         Complex – CPLX (07 May 17)

         Puzzle – PUZZ (1 Sep 17)

        

*PBUT and TIAN are PARC kids

Pond Talek West Clan List (as of 25 Feb 2018)

Murphy – MRPH (25 June 96) – f

                  ¹Aquamarine – AQUA (17 Apr 06) – f

                        David Ortiz “Big Papi” – PAPI (25 Oct 17) - ?

                        Bob Gibson – GIBS (25 Oct 17) - M

                        Sandy Coufax – SANO (22 Nov 16) - m

                        Miguel Cabrera – MIBA (25 Aug 15) - ?

                        Dustin Pedroia – DUPE (17 Mar 14) – m

                        Ken Griffey Jr. – KENG (17 Mar 14) – f

                              Emo – EMO (9 Nov 17) - ?

                              RNB – RNB (9 Nov 17) - ?

                              Kpop – KPOP (6 Feb 17) - ?

                        Cal Ripkin – RPKN (14 Apr 13) – m

         Juno – JUNO (20 Apr 08) – f

                  Bagheera – BGRA (27 Oct 16) - M

                  Baloo – BLOO (27 Oct 16) - F

                  Timone – TIMO (01 Apr 15) – m

                  Pumba – PUMB (01 Apr 15) – m

                  Flit – FLIT (21 Jan 14) – f

                        Sylvia Plath – SYLV (12 Dec 16) - M

                        Maya Angelou – ANGE (12 Dec 16) - M

                  Meeko – MEKO (21 Jan 14) – m

         Morpheus – MOS (18 Feb 03) – f

                  ¹Aquamarine – AQUA (17 Apr 06) – f

         Adonis – ADON (20 Mar 01) – f (KCM)

                  Monopoly – MONO (22 July 08) – f

                        Bonnet – BNT (25 Sep 11) – f

                              Ghost – GOST (9 Dec 17) - ?

                              Ser Davos Seaworth – DAVO (9 Dec 17) -

                              Nymeria – NYM (5 Dec 16) - F

                              Syrio Forel – SRIO (5 Dec 16) - ?

                              Brandon Stark – BRAN (23 Aug 15) - F

                              Arya Stark – ARYA (23 Aug 15) - M

         Athena – ATH (20 Nov 98) – f

                  ZC (13 Mar 01) – f

                        Gucci – GUCI (3 Mar 04) – f

                              Alfredo – ALFE (5 Jan 09) – f

                                    Goku – GOKU (23 Jan17) - F

                                    Oolong - OOLG (23 Jan 17) - ?

                                    Chi-chi – CICI (16 Dec 15) – f

                                    Bulma – BULM (16 Mar 14) – m

                              Gelato – GEL (5 Jan 09) – f (KCM)

                                    Tasty Twist – TAST (10 Sep 13) – f

                                                Pellet – PELT (10 May 17) -M

                                                Kaka – KAKA (10 May 17) - ?

Moon Pie – MP (23 Jul 94) – f

         Baba Ganoush – BAB (30 Oct 04) – f (KCM)

                  Lycos – LYCO (26 Mar 13) – f

                        Clementine – CLEM (31 Jan 17) - ?

Alice – ALI (4 Aug 97) – f (MD)

         Dora – DORA (21 Feb 13) – m

Navaho – NAV (7 Nov 92) – f (KCM)

         Carter – CART (5 Dec 05) – f

                  Goomba – GMBA (26 February 17) – F

                  Rosalina – LINA (26 February 17) - ?

                  Mario – MARO (16 Feb 16) – ?

                  Chain-Chomp – CCMP (07 Jan 15) – m

                  Luigi – LUGI (18 Aug 13) – f

                        Moose – MOOS (4 Aug 17) - M

Immigrant males:

                  Roswell – RSWL

                  Wanugu – WANU

                  Sequim – SQIM

                  Jar Jar – JAR (29 Nov 11)

                  Jean Grey – GREY (17 Sep 13)

                  Magadi – MGDI (5 Dec 13)

                  Wyandotte – WYAN