Expected values for Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests are based on the assumption that, for each time of day, attacks were equally likely to have been reported across all days of the lunar cycle. All times are +3 hrs GMT all probabilities are two-tailed. Analyses exclude all attacks that occurred during retaliatory lion hunts, leaving data on 474 victims from 450 attack events. Follow-up visits were made to over 500 attack sites by DI and HK in Kilwa, Kisarawe, Lindi, Liwale, Manyoni, Mkuranga, Mtwara, Newala, Ruangwa, Rufiji, Singida and Ulanga Districts survivors and victims' families were interviewed to confirm details of the attacks and to collect additional information. Records of lion attacks on humans are available from the Tanzanian Government dating back to 1988. Regression lines are based on the raw data for each respective measure and are only presented to provide a visual guide to the overall trends statistical analyses are presented in Tables S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6.
#THE NOCTURN FULL#
Lions were more likely to make a daytime kill (diamonds) or scavenge (squares) on days nearest to the full moon (P<0.0001 for both). A Females (circles) had larger belly sizes and hence consumed more meat on days nearest the new moon (P<0.0001, n = 7,683 sightings) males (triangles) showed a similar pattern (P<0.0001, n = 3,827 sightings). Luminosity is the average proportion of the moon's surface illuminated on that night vertical lines indicate standard errors. Moonlight and lion behavior in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Crater) and season/habitat interactions details are provided in the Supporting Information.įigure 1. 1b, Tables S4, S5 & S6) were tested using a generalized linear model (function glm) with Poisson distribution. Effects of moon phase on carcass acquisition ( Fig. Behavioral records dating from 1966 specify whether carcasses were obtained by predation or scavenging. 1a, Tables S1, S2 & S3) used linear mixed model (function lmer, library lme4)) in R with random effects of pride and year to control for pseudoreplication a linear mixed model could be used because belly size is a continuous variable and group averages vary continuously. Statistical analyses of the effects of lunar cycle on belly size ( Fig. “Average belly size” is the mean of all females ≥3 yrs of age in each group, using only one sighting per group per day. Beginning in 1978, belly size has been consistently recorded on a scale from 1.0 to 5.0 at 0.25 increments, with 1.0 being the fattest. Retrospective data on the lunar cycle are available from the US Naval Oceanography website, Serengeti and Ngorongoro lions have been studied continuously since 1966 – at least one adult female has been fitted with a radio collar in each Serengeti pride since 1984. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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Funding for the surveys in southeastern Tanzania came from Wildlife Conservation Society, Tanzanian Wildlife Protection Fund and Panthera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.įunding: Research in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro was funded by NSF LTREB grants DEB-03439142 and Biocomplexity grant BE-0308486. Received: JanuAccepted: JPublished: July 20, 2011Ĭopyright: © 2011 Packer et al.
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Rands, University of Bristol, United Kingdom Citation: Packer C, Swanson A, Ikanda D, Kushnir H (2011) Fear of Darkness, the Full Moon and the Nocturnal Ecology of African Lions.