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Emmanuel Ncube
Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe
ScientificTracks Abstracts: J Vet Res Med
Bird species are in danger of extinction due to human activity, particularly in rural areas where birds are targeted for their meat. Between July and September 2020, researchers examined the species they found in Thekwane hamlet of Bulilima area in Plumtree, Zimbabwe. To determine the flight initiation distance (FID) of birds in diverse environments and at different times of the day, a survey was carried out. Which bird species were targeted by local hunters was revealed by fifty key informants. The average body mass and IUCN conservation status of each species were calculated using a desktop survey. Generalized linear models were used to examine the relationship between body mass, day of the week, perch type and height, beginning distance, flock size, hunting pressure, habitat type, and FID. Chi-square tests were conducted to investigate any relationships between the frequency of a bird's citation and its level of hunting. The main informants as regularly used sources of protein mentioned four species, however, 58 species were discovered during FID measurements. FID lengthened with body mass and was longer in birds that were perched on the ground. Large flocks had longer FIDs, and there was a positive linear relationship between FID and starting distance. Hunting pressure and habitat type, however, had no discernible connection to FID. According to our findings, birds that are more likely to be hunted by humans have higher degrees of wariness than larger bird species, which are less tolerant of approaching humans. References: 1. Lima, S. L., & Bednekoff, P. A. (2011). On the perception of targeting by predators during attacks on socially feeding birds. Animal Behaviour, 82(3), 535–542. 2.Malo, J. E., Acebes, P., & Traba, J. (2011). Measuring ungulate tolerance to human with flight distance: A reliable visitor management tool? Biodiversity and Conservation, 20(14), 3477–3488. 3.Manin, A. (2019). Duhart & Macbeth (editors): Birds as food: Anthropological and cross-disciplinary perspectives. Anthropology of Food, 13, 80. 4. Møller, A. P., Samia, D. S., Weston, M. A., Guay, P.-J., & Blumstein, D. T. (2014). American exceptionalism: Population trends and flight initiation distances in birds from three continents. PLoS One, 9(9), e107883. 5. Morelli, F., Benedetti, Y., Díaz, M., Grim, T., Ibáñez-Álamo, J. D., Jokimäki, J., Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki, M. L., Tätte, K., Markó, G., Jiang, Y., Tryjanowski, P., & Moller, A. (2019). Contagious fear: Escape behavior increases with flock size in European gregarious birds. Ecology and Evolution, 9(10), 6096–6104.
Holder of a Bachelors's (Hons) degree in Wildlife ecology and conservation at Chinhoyi University of Tenchnoloy, currently working as a Senior Research Monitor at Great Plains Foundation in Zimbabwe. My Hometown is Plumtree, Matabeleland South Province.
