Arrested Development is built on recurring jokes but one of the biggest crowd-pleasers of all is the Bluth family chicken dance, deployed to taunt other family members, usually Michael, “the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.”

Almost every Bluth has a uniquely horrible chicken dance. Will Arnett, who plays Segway-riding illusionist Gob has revealed the origin of his aggressive interpretation. Jessica Walter, who plays toxic mother hen Lucille, calls her version “a little bit tipsy.”

But maybe there’s more to the dance than meets the eye. How do their movements correlate with those of real fowl? And would real chickens help us better understand the Bluth flock?

To get an expert’s take, I grilled chicken behavior specialist Janice Siegford of Michigan State University.

Is it possible to understand what prompts chicken behavior?

Yes. Certain behaviors are characteristic of courtship, for example a rooster trying to entice a hen or demonstrate fitness over another male. There are certain ways that hens behave to challenge other hens and behavior that indicates if they accept that the other hen is dominant or if they are going to challenge her. Hens will also pick at food to show their chicks what to do, and call to get their chicks to pay attention.  If the chicks don’t listen they will call again louder, kind of like a parent with a toddler. And there are different warning calls for different predators – one for a hawk or something aerial versus one on the ground. Roosters will make a warning call more if they are with hens than with other males.

What do the various Bluth chicken dances indicate? Gob’s was the first to debut, so let’s start with that one.

Gob’s dance involves kicking his legs back and forth and lots of motion with his feet. Sometimes hens and roosters will use the motion of scratching on the ground to give some aggressive posturing. The male may use pretend foraging, scratching at the ground to intimidate.

Younger brother Buster claims there is a flaw in Gob’s dance: Chickens don’t clap.

Unfortunately, chickens don’t clap. They may stretch their wings or fold them but they would never bring them in front to clap.

All right, so Buster has a point. How about sister Lindsay’s dance?

That one is kind of interesting. She is doing something that looks fairly similar to a rooster courtship waltz. They put one wing up and the other one down and dance around the hen, almost like a Mexican hat dance. There is definitely leg motion [with real roosters]. Maybe not as extreme as what she does, but there is leg motion. I’d have to say [her dance] looks most like a rooster courtship dance.

Lucille’s “a coodle doodle doo” dance is heavy on wing movement. What does that indicate?

A hen might hold her wings out that way with their head held up high as an aggressive display. The part where she kind of bobs her head up and down, that is something a hen or rooster might do to attract chicks to a good food source.

It’s hard to imagine Lucille performing such a maternal gesture. Michael is probably the strongest parental figure in the show. His impression isn’t a dance per se but he does do a squawk over the phone in one episode.

That actually sounds a lot like a hen getting ready to lay an egg. The squawk at the end there, they call that a gakel-call. A hen will do this when trying to find a good place to lay an egg. As they are getting ready, they wander around and look for a nest site for about an hour, making that noise, being kind of restless.

Well, the Bluths are a restless flock. How about the last Bluth to unveil his dance,  patriarch George, who calls “coo coo coo chaw” while thrusting his arms out asymmetrically?

That one is kind of crazy. I am not sure about him. I cannot think of when a chicken would do that combination. I would think that chicken might have gotten into a toxic substance. Or maybe a chicken off its rocker.

How do real chickens cope with family members in close quarters, as the Bluths often find themselves?

Chickens are definitely very social so they tend to be more fearful and stressed when they are on their own. We generally don’t have intact chicken families, but there is a critical flock size where they can easily work out the pecking order, so to speak: Who is most dominant, who is most submissive. In a slightly larger group where they can’t figure out who is supposed to be where in the hierarchy, you see a lot of pecking of feathers. When a group gets really large, you don’t see much fighting because they can’t keep track. It’s recommended to have a rooster in the group to help minimize the hen to hen aggression, but if you have too many roosters, you get rooster to rooster aggression.

So what is the ideal flock size?

If you look at the ancestral species, the red jungle fowl, they usually have a small group, never more than 20, with hens, chicks and a rooster or two.

The Bluths are housing developers, albeit failed ones, and your research looks at housing too, right?

Since 2008 I have done a lot of work with how [chickens] respond to different housing systems, cage systems, aviary systems that are more open, or free range systems. As we give the birds more space, do they actually use the nest box or the perch the way we think they will? Do these new systems improve their welfare or do they cause different problems?

Small cages can prevent the spread of disease and other problems. In big systems there is more chance to more around but also more chance to spread disease and for a chicken that is likely to get picked on, more birds to pick on her. Sometimes when you have a hen that starts to get picked on, everybody knows about it and starts to pick on her, almost like human bullying. When you put all these birds together, they are not always nice to each other.

Is there anything else about chickens that you think people, including fans of Arrested Development, should know?

When we look at chickens, we often think of them as simple, and not very bright, but they actually are. They are capable of quite a bit of learning. It seems that not a lot of personality comes through that little beak, but there is a lot of individuality. They are capable of more than we give them credit for.

-Brad Scriber

It’s not quite gardening just for the sake of looking pretty, although appearance is certainly a top priority. Plants are chosen and spaced strategically to peak the very morning of judging. The gardens are meant to convey a message, or to serve as a blueprint. Selecting plants and urban materials can be strategic to maximize green cover on the roof of a building, or to minimize water use in a parched region.

To find out what that meant, we stopped by several gardens to talk with their architects (don’t call them gardeners, we were warned). A garden by Darren Hawkes was designed to create a natural space for people with vision impairments: A central focus of plants and a reflective water pool eliminates the need for peripheral vision. Designer Anna Piussi built a garden with a soundscape. Poles 20 feet in the air emit natural sounds like the rustling of leaves, meant to add sensory depth to the outdoor experience.

One of the more striking gardens—indeed, it won first place, the apparent equivalent of a horticultural “Best Picture”—was designed by Nigel Dunnett, a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Sheffield. Created as a potential model for the rooftops of urban buildings, Dunnett’s garden used plants and a water system designed to filter a building’s gray water. Intricate wood designs were created to offer haven for insects. All components of the plot were meant to work as one system, focused on the most efficient use of water—a top goal of the Royal Bank of Canada, which funded Dunnett’s project. We should mention that RBC is also a sponsor of Change Reaction, but our interest in its garden was organic. And it wasn’t only us. Judges awarded the garden a gold medal, one of show’s top honors.

Lest one think the event was just attracted gardening enthusiasts, the flower show is a big draw throughout the entire UK. The Daily Telegraph, one of London’s biggest newspapers, published a 12-page preview of the show’s highlights. We caught whispers that Rod Stewart was expected to attend. When we ran into actress Helen Mirren, she politely denied our request for an interview. A few hours after reporters were asked to leave the show, Her Majesty pulled up with a few members of the royal family.

Perhaps the most memorable part, however, wasn’t the celebrities of the professional gardeners—er, landscape architects—with the money and time to craft a masterpiece. Not long before we left, we ran into Milly Smith and Erin Mullins, two young students (age 13 and 12 respectively) at London’s Correlli College school. Gardening for them, they said, was about learning to live sustainably and to harness the land they had, rather than land they could spend a year making perfect. After we spoke, they offered us strawberries they had grown in their school’s garden. They were some of the sweetest ones you could imagine.

The top 10 news stories on our radar today.
Tell @NatGeo what you’re reading with #NatGeoDaily

1. Star Mystery Solved: Stellar Twins Closer to Earth Than Thought

   “The binary star system is made up of a normal star and a dense stellar remnant called a white dwarf. According to the new measurement, the star system is 372 light-years from Earth, not 520 light-years as
   previously thought.” Space
   Space

2. Amphibians Disappearing at an ‘Alarming’ Rate

   A new study found that populations of frogs, salamanders, and toads are declining at a rate of 3.7 percent each year. PLoS One
   Animals

3. Arctic Bacteria Found Multiplying at Record -15 C

   “Bacteria that can live and multiply in High Arctic permafrost at temperatures well below the freezing point of water have been discovered by a Canadian-led team of researchers, offering clues about the types of organisms that might exist in similar extreme environments elsewhere in our solar system.” CBC News
   Earth

4. Several Thousand Ancient Cave Paintings Found in Mexico

   “The 4,926 paintings found were made by at least three groups of hunter-gatherers in the region. The paintings are anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, astronomical and abstract.” RedOrbit
   Ancient

5. What Makes Us Feel An Itch?

   “Scientists experimenting in mice may have found the culprit: A molecule used by the heart is pulling double duty, sending a message to the spinal cord that ultimately produces that familiar
   tickle on our skin.” National Geographic
   Science

6. For Rent: Shuttle Launch Pad

   “NASA posted a ‘For Lease’ sign on one of its space shuttle launch pads, as it continues to downsize and revamp the Kennedy Space Center following the program’s retirement. The space agency is looking for a commercial company or companies to take over operations and maintenance of Launch Complex 39A beginning no later than Oct. 1. The lease would last at least five years.” Discovery News
   Space

7. Cockroaches Are Wising Up to Avoid Traps

   “A strain of cockroaches in Europe has evolved to outsmart the sugar traps used to eradicate them. American scientists found that the mutant cockroaches had a “reorganized” sense of taste, making them perceive the glucose used to coat poisoned bait not as sweet but rather as bitter.” BBC
   Science

8. Cradle Turns Smartphone into Handheld Biosensor

   “Researchers and physicians in the field could soon run on-the-spot tests for environmental toxins, medical diagnostics, food safety and more with their smartphones.” University of Illinois
   Tech

9. How the White Tiger Got Its Coat

   “The strikingly beautiful, milky coats of white tigers are caused by a single change in a known pigment gene, a new study finds.” Live Science
   Animals

10. Baby Lemur Born at the Bristol Zoo

    His name is Rascal and he’s adorable. Buzzfeed
    Just for Fun

Archie the giant anteater may have a hard time answering that question. Born to mom Armani at the LEO Zoological Center in Greenwich, Connecticut, Archie seems perfectly normal except for one small detail: Zookeepers have no idea how he came into being.

Archie, the anteater of mysterious origin, clings to his mother. Photograph courtesy LEO Zoological Conservation Center

Armani had previously given birth to a baby named Alice after a romantic rendezvous with Alf, a male anteater also at LEO. But this wasn’t an episode of Leave it to Beaver. Male anteaters are known to kill and eat their offspring, so the zoo’s staff kept Alf separate from Armani and Alice for several months. Before the anteater family was reunited, however, Armani somehow got pregnant with Archie, according to the Connecticut newspaper Greenwich Time. (Related post: “Weird Animal Courtship and Mating Rituals.”)

This pregnancy mystery immediately triggered thoughts of virgin birth, a.k.a. parthenogenesis. Animals conceived via parthenogenesis don’t actually have a father. Instead, the embryo grows and develops in the absence of fertilization. It sounds unusual—some might even say miraculous—but it’s a surprisingly common occurrence in the animal kingdom. Researchers believe that an absence of available males likely drives the phenomenon.

Although a variety of different animals have been found to reproduce via parthenogenesis, it is most common in invertebrates (such as water fleas, parasitic wasps, and bees) and certain types of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, and occasionally birds). Although the exact mechanisms of parthenogenetic reproduction can vary from species to species, all parthenogenesis produces normal, healthy offspring.

Check out the wide range of species below that have produced children without a father.

Komodo Dragon

In the mid-2000s, two Komodo dragons at the London Zoo laid viable eggs via parthenogenesis. Neither female had encountered a male during captivity, and subsequent genetic tests revealed no paternal contribution of DNA. (Also see “Virgin Birth Expected at Christmas—By Komodo Dragon.”)

New Mexico Whiptail

As its name suggests, this lizard lives throughout the desert southwest. It appears to have originated as a hybrid between two other closely related species: the little striped whiptail and the tiger whiptail. Although hybridization between these two whiptails can still produce viable New Mexico whiptails, all of the resulting offspring are female. Thus, the New Mexico whiptail reproduces solely via parthenogenesis.

Copperhead Snake

Parthenogenesis might seem like an especially good reproductive choice when no males are handy, but female copperhead snakes use parthenogenesis even when there are plenty of males nearby. A 2012 study in Biology Letters showed that 1 of 22 captured pregnant copperheads gave birth parthenogenetically—much higher than the researchers expected. Most of the observed cases of parthenogenesis have occurred in captive animals, leading researchers to wonder exactly what drives the process in the wild. (Related: “‘Virgin Birth’ Seen in Wild Snakes, Even When Males Are Available.”)

Hammerhead Shark

In 2001, a hammerhead shark gave birth at an Omaha zoo—hardly newsworthy. She didn’t have a mate in captivity, but zookeepers figured the shark had stored sperm after copulating in the wild, which is a quite common occurrence. The baby shark was killed shortly after birth by a stingray. Genetic analysis revealed that the little shark had no paternal DNA—only maternal genetic information. (Related: “‘Virgin Birth’ Record Broken by Hotel Shark.”)

Archie’s Mystery Solved?

Zookeepers at LEO believe that Archie was likely the result of embryonic diapause. Not virgin birth in the strict sense of the phrase, embryonic diapause happens when a mother puts a fertilized egg on hold in her uterus.

If environmental conditions aren’t right, the mother can prevent the fertilized egg from implanting and developing for a long periods of tim. Although the process has never been previously observed in an anteater, researchers have documented it in armadillos, which are closely related to anteaters. (Watch an anteater video.)

If Armani did undergo embryonic diapause, she’s in good company. A paper published last year in PLoS ONE showed that a wide variety of mammals have the potential to use embryonic diapause. Thus while it might look like Armani didn’t need a male to conceive Archie, she actually did. It’s just that zookeepers didn’t catch them in the act.

So the next time “Millionaire Matchmaker” or “The Bachelor” comes on TV, just imagine what kind of programming we could have if animals created shows based on their own reproductive strategies. “No Males Allowed,” anybody?

Plain geography is a factor. Moore, Oklahoma, is in the middle of what is known as Tornado Alley—an area where cold, dry air from Canada and the Rockies meets warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico to create the unstable conditions that cause tornados. Although, generally, researchers agree that climate change will increase the likelihood of extreme weather events, they cannot say for sure whether there is a connection between climate change and tornadoes.

“The short answer is, we have no idea,” said Michael Wehner, a climate researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, noting he’s studying the issue and is optimistic about achieving a more definitive answer. “The reason I’m optimistic that we can get somewhere on this is that supercomputing technology is driving this very hard. We’re just getting into the sweet spot for these kinds of issues, with the largest mainframes that money can buy.”

Studies, the Houston Chronicle cites, indicate no evidence at this time to link tornado activity to climate change. According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes aren’t getting more frequent, but more accounts of these storms are being made available for public consumption.

Vote Expedites Northern Leg of the Keystone XL Pipeline

The House approved legislation Wednesday to expedite construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline’s northern leg by eliminating the need for a presidential permit and requiring no additional environmental studies. The vote was largely symbolic, U.S. News and World Report wrote, noting that experts say it has virtually no chance of surviving a Senate vote. The White House has also threatened to veto the bill, claiming it “prevents thorough consideration of the complex issues that could have serious security, safety, environmental, and other ramifications.”

So far, the Canadian government has nearly doubled spending—reaching $16.5 million—to promote the pipeline. But it seems Americans are more aware of climate change than the Keystone XL pipeline project, according to a new poll (subscription) by Yale and George Mason universities.

Moniz Vows to Review LNG Export Data, Energy Efficiency in New Role

In his first official speech after being sworn in as Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz indicated he plans to delay any final decisions on applications to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews data showing what impact exports would have on domestic supplies and prices. The boom in domestic production of the resource has lowered prices and stirred debate regarding exports. Moniz doesn’t plan to order new studies right now. Rather, he’ll review what is already out there—including a study commissioned in 2012 by the Department of Energy.

He saw efficiency as a vital part of meeting the country’s climate and energy challenges, noting he plans to advance a large bipartisan energy efficiency bill moving through Congress.

“Efficiency is going to be a big focus as we go forward,” Moniz said. “I just don’t see the solutions to our biggest energy and environmental challenges without a very big demand-side response. That’s why it’s important to move this way, way up in our priorities.”

Meanwhile, Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama’s pick to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has waited longer than any other nominee for U.S. Senate confirmation—more than 20 days longer than Michael Leavitt in 2003.

The Climate Post offers a rundown of the week in climate and energy news. It is produced each Thursday by Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

A ladybug pileup. Photograph by Ed Young, Corbis

The Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)—a relative of the ladybug—was originally imported to the U.S. in 1916 in an attempt to naturally control pests. After escaping greenhouses, they spread uncontrollably throughout the U.S. and Europe in a matter of decades. But no one understood why they were such successful conquerors. (Related pictures: “Invasive Species in the United States.”)

Now, a recent study published in Science finds that Asian lady beetles contain tiny fungus-like parasites that infect and kill native species, wiping out the invaders’ competition for food.

Asian lady beetles are aggressive, known to attack the larvae and eggs of other insects like butterflies and native lady beetles with which they compete. But that’s not what makes them so deadly. The invaders themselves contain high concentrations of a fungal parasite called microsporidia.

“If one of the native lady beetles eats larvae and eggs of Asian lady beetles, [the natives] die off,” said Heiko Vogel, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and co-author of the study. (Related: “How a Cat-Borne Parasite Infects Humans.”)

“We were wondering, ‘What was going on there?’” he added.

Alien Invader

Vogel and his team identified Asian lady beetles from 12 different countries using physical examinations under a microscope and DNA analysis. After confirming the species, the researchers analyzed the beetles’ blood in order to figure out what was infecting and killing native bugs.

That’s when they found the fungal parasite lying dormant within the invaders. While Asian lady beetles are immune to the parasites, other insects are highly susceptible to its deadly effects. (Learn about a fungus that controls ant brains.)

“We didn’t believe our results at first,” Vogel said. “We wouldn’t have dreamed that this parasite, this fungus, would be a problem for the native beetles.”

When another insect eats an Asian lady beetle, the parasites activate. Microsporidia penetrate the new host’s cells, siphoning off its energy in order to multiply. The parasites continue to replicate until they’ve completely taken over and killed their host.

Then the fungus produces spores, which can survive harsh environmental conditions while waiting for the cycle to begin again. Asian lady beetles naturally contain a high concentration of these spores.

“We found these huge amount of spores in the blood of the Asian ladybird beetles, and we’re like, ‘What the hell?’” Vogel said. “When you see something like this, usually the insect is dead.” (See photos of how a parasitic fungus takes over ant brains.)

The invaders are incredibly hardy insects. Asian lady beetles have a hyperactive immune system, which could be what’s protecting them from succumbing to the spores in their blood.

Unstoppable

And these conquerors aren’t just a problem for other insects. Every winter, Asian lady beetles gather by the thousands to weather the cold temperatures inside any cave-like dwelling they can find—including houses. Vogel’s own mother walked outside four years ago to find thousands of the pests attached to the side of her house, attempting to force their way in.

“They’re trying to sneak into crevices,” Vogel said. “You can’t open a window anymore or you’ll have thousands inside.”

The Asian lady beetles en mass have been known to cause health issues for people prone to asthma. They also give off a horrible smell when they sense danger as a deterrent against predators. One smelly beetle is nothing more than an annoyance, but if you have thousands of them, the stench can be a big problem, Vogel said.

Any efforts to eradicate the beetle, which also feasts on agricultural crops like grapes and apples, are likely a waste of resources, the biologist added. The bugs are just too resilient to control.

“I don’t think we can do a lot against [the Asian lady beetles],” Vogel said. “They’re so successful, and they’re spreading so fast. There’s no stopping them.” (Learn more about invasive species.)

You just got back from a dig.  Explain the kick of meticulously digging through rock and sand for a splinter of fossilized bone?

The American paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson said it’s kind of like gambling without the vicious aspects of it.  You never know what you are going to find. Sometimes you get skunked. But you find enough to keep you going back.

What is it that makes dinosaurs so intriguing?

Dinosaurs demand answers. There is nothing quite like them. Every time bones are found, people keep coming up with stories about them, attempting to get at how they fit in the world. We explore them through myth and legends. All manner of questions tumble out of their bones. They cause us to question our own place in nature.

You write about the paleontological discoveries that resulted in the rechristening of your beloved Brontosaurus as Apatosaurus. You were five years old then. Do you remember your reaction? Was it like being told there was no Santa Claus?

I don’t recall being upset or crying. It was more like, “Well, OK, that is the proper name now. The adults got it wrong.”

In the chapter “Big Bang Theory” you tackle the subject of dinosaur sex, something the average reader doesn’t usually read about. Why?

Actually a lot of books mention it, but it’s been given short shrift because it was thought there wasn’t a lot to say. It’s an essential process that kept them around for millions of years. I really wanted to show that this is not trivia that can be brushed aside with a lurid illustration. The way they reproduced was how they generated the next wave of little dinosaurs and maintained their dominance.

You wrote that if there ever is a Jurassic Park 4, dinosaurs in the starring roles should sport some feathers and fuzz in accordance with the paleontological evidence, Steven Spielberg’s sense of taste be damned.  Isn’t that Hollywood heresy?

I wrote a blog saying so, too. http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/20/a-velociraptor-without-feathers-isnt-a-velociraptor/

Quite a few fans of the film pushed back and wrote that feathered dinosaurs look stupid. In fact, there will be a Jurassic Park 4, and Colin Trevorrow, who will be directing, has said that there will be no feathers in it. Although we know Jurassic Park got things wrong, it was the first time that I saw something on film that looked real.  It’s still the greatest dinosaur film of all time.

“Dinosaurs,” you write, “are our guideposts to the past.” Do they have anything to teach us about the future?

Evolution continues. The world changes. Now we influence those changes. If we can understand why dinosaurs were successful over the many years when they were, and why so many died out when they did, maybe we can use them as predictors of human driven climate change.  Dinosaurs are proof that life changes dramatically over time and that extinction is the ultimate fate of all species.

At the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Conference of Parties meeting in March, countries agreed to submit samples from all future ivory seizures of more than 500 kilos (about 1,340 pounds), as well as those of that size from the past 24 months, to determine the origin of the smuggled ivory.

The goal is to establish where the organized criminal networks responsible for these massive shipments are targeting elephants and then to focus law enforcement efforts on those poaching hot spots.

The latest report of the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) noted that almost none of the 34 large-scale seizures made from 2009 through 2011 resulted in successful investigations of the criminals behind the transactions. Thus far, DNA from less than 5 percent of ivory seizures has been provided for analysis.

“The single most important thing we can do is figure out where the killings are taking place,” says Samuel Wasser, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington.

Wasser and his team innovated techniques for extracting and analyzing DNA from ivory. The team also developed a DNA map for African elephants that allows the geographic origin of a tusk to be ascertained within a 160-mile radius.

DNA analysis focused on origin has already produced interesting results. Testing of 6.5 tons of illegal elephant ivory seized in Singapore in 2002, 3.9 tons confiscated in Hong Kong in 2006, and another 11 tons confiscated in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan (also in 2006) determined that the massive consignments came from closely related elephants in specific localities: eastern Zambia for the Singapore seizure, a small section of eastern Gabon and neighboring Congo for the single Hong Kong seizure, and southern Tanzania/northern Mozambique for all samples in the 11-ton seizure.

Those findings proved that organized gangs were filling purchase orders by targeting whole herds in certain areas rather than by collecting ivory from disparate sources, as was previously thought.

Many agents involved in wildlife law enforcement suspect that there are a finite number of poaching hot spots, which makes targeting those areas more feasible. Anti-poaching units could patrol specific locations, and wildlife law enforcement agents could monitor well-worn smuggling routes—ensuring the biggest bang for the limited bucks.

Forensic analysis also has the power to link suspects to specific crimes. In addition to providing information on where a tusk came from, DNA analysis can be used to identify individual elephants killed in a particular incident.

When a mass killing occurs, tissue samples from carcasses can be analyzed, so that when and if the tusks enter the illegal market, they can be matched to that same incident.

Or a different one. Such was the case recently when 22 elephants (18 adults and 4 calves) were killed in Garamba, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A short time later 36 tusks were confiscated. DNA analysis showed that the tusks did not come from those 22 elephants but from other elephants in the same overall population.

DNA analysis could also be used to show domestic ivory markets are operating legally. Recently, Chinese officials have disputed allegations of large-scale importation of illegal ivory and insisted that there is no linkage between their legal imports and the massive elephant poaching presently taking place.

One way they could prove their point would be to provide random samples of ivory from China’s legal markets for DNA analysis. If that analysis showed that it is all from Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia, where one-off sales were allowed, such allegations could be rejected. But if the DNA analyses pointed to origins elsewhere, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Tanzania, or Kenya, there would be clear grounds for rejecting the Chinese claims.

Ivory Samples as a Proxy for Government Commitment

In the coming months, compliance with the CITES agreement to submit ivory samples should be closely watched. While some countries might assert that financial constraints prevent them from sending in DNA samples, the truth of that claim is suspect because the analysis itself will be funded by outside sources.

And the cost of shipping samples is minimal. Each sample is about the size of a one-inch coin, and only one tusk per pair needs to be tested. So a six-ton seizure would require shipping samples weighing less than a pound in all.

If a country opts not to submit samples, one might wonder whether it is doing everything it can to stop elephant poaching and ivory trafficking. And it might cause one to wonder if the government was allowing seized ivory to find its way into the illegal trade.

In contrast, a willingness to supply samples from seized ivory will help demonstrate a country’s commitment to stopping the illegal ivory trade.

Ones to Watch Now

Following are some recent large-scale ivory seizures that should be subject to the agreement:

In January 2013:

• Hong Kong officials intercepted a container from Kenya holding 779 pieces of ivory tusk weighing 1.3 metric tons.
• Singapore officials uncovered a shipment of 1.8 metric tons of ivory (a total of 1,099 pieces of raw tusks in 65 sacks) that had been labeled “waste paper.”
• Kenyan officials confiscated 2 metric tons of ivory (600 pieces) labeled “decorating stones” and bound for Indonesia from Tanzania.

In December 2012:

• Malaysian officials confiscated two cargo containers from Togo headed to China and labeled as “wooden floor tiles.” Instead they held 2,341 pieces of tusks weighing 6,034 kilograms.

In November 2012:

• Hong Kong officials intercepted 569 pieces of tusks weighing 1.3 metric tons that were hidden in a shipping container from Tanzania marked “sunflower seed.”
• Dubai officials uncovered a shipment of 215 pieces of ivory hidden in 40 boxes containing beans.

In October 2012:

• Hong Kong officials intercepted a container from Tanzania with 972 pieces of raw ivory tusks (1.9 metric tons), along with ivory ornaments inside 91 bags of plastics scraps.
• Hong Kong officials also seized a container from Kenya with 237 pieces of raw ivory tusks (about 1.9 metric tons) that were hidden inside 50 bags of “roscoco beans.”
• Tanzania authorities arrested three men with 214 elephant tusks, secreted in several fertilizer bags.

We first spotted the Lower Chief’s Island pack across the floodplains of the delta on a palm-fringed island. The hunting dogs were stalking through the high grass, their mottled coats blending seamlessly into the surrounding bush. They jumped into the water and began swimming to the next island, before suddenly turning back and disappearing without a trace.

African wild dogs have wide jaws, large rounded ears, and bushy tails with a white tip. All photos by Marcus and Kate Westberg

On game drives from Sanctuary Stanley’s Camp, we sought out the pack and followed them on their hunting forays. At the southern tip of Chief’s Island, we travelled around a vast private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve. The Moremi is known as the “predator capital of Africa” and keeping track of the hunting dogs across this wetland wasn’t an easy task.

Our guide Kot Basuti maneuvered the game-viewing vehicle with considerable skill through the swamp. We pulled up our feet to avoid getting wet in the deep channels between the islands with small fish swimming past in the clear water. Our perseverance paid off when the pack made a successful kill of an impala after a high-speed chase across the Okavango floodplains.

Driving between islands formed by the seasonal floodwaters in pursuit of the wild dogs.

At the end of our stay with Sanctuary, we were completely taken with these smart and sociable animals. We spent hours with the pack, watching them interact with one another, playing and resting in the shade between hunts. It was obvious how close the wild dogs were as they communicated with each other constantly through touch and vocalizations.

Wanting to learn more about these critically endangered canines, we spoke to Dr. “Tico” McNutt, founder and director of the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust. Tico and his wife Lesley have been running a research camp in the delta for the past 18 years. Their ongoing work with wild dogs has greatly increased our understanding of these once maligned animals.

Painted dogs are highly successful in bringing down prey such as antelopes and warthogs.

Having seen African wild dogs in action – hunting, playing and looking after their young – it is not difficult to understand your fascination with these incredible animals. When did you first decide that this was the species for you?

Dr. “Tico” McNutt: When I arrived in Botswana in 1989, I had little intention of staying for more than a year. At that time I had ambitions to conduct my PhD research project on Darwin’s Rheas in southern Patagonia. I had come to Botswana for two reasons: 1) because my grant applications for funding to return to southern Chile had been turned down and it would be another year before funding would be available; and 2) my supervisor at UCDavis, Bill Hamilton, had NSF funding and needed someone to bridge a gap between students to manage and administer a baboon research project in the middle of the Okavango Delta.

In the first several months I was in Botswana my colleague/fellow graduate student from UCD, John Bulger, (who was finishing his research on baboons) and I discussed at some length the prospects of starting a wild dog research project analogous in scope to the long-term baboon research (which our supervisor had started in 1978) that we were both involved with. He said he had given it considerable thought when he first arrived in 1984, but had focused instead on the baboon research.

In a trip intended to investigate possibilities and logistics of a possible wild dog study, John and I drove an old Land Cruiser into the Moremi Game Reserve in September of 1989 and by an unusual stroke of luck, after a long day of driving, and before the sun had gone down completely, we encountered the Mboma pack of wild dogs – 14 adults and 10 pups. We spent no more than 20 minutes watching them before they disappeared into the bush hunting, but it was long enough for me to get identification sketches/notes of all 14 adults, and to realize these were possibly the most spectacular (including from a social behavior perspective) mammals I had ever seen (remember I was a bird person before that).

Before the end of the year, with the research permit for the baboon project renewed for another 3 years, my supervisor had somehow managed to get the Frankfurt Zoological Society – Help for Threatened Wildlife (FZS) to agree to buy a Land Rover for wild dog research in Botswana. When that (new V8 1989 petrol) Land Rover arrived was when I decided that I was obliged to initiate a study (since FZS had made the commitment), but I was also inspired by the prospects of spending time learning about these spectacular predators. But really, it was that first evening encounter with the Mboma pack in evening light when everything changed for me.

The Latin name, Lycaon pictus means “painted wolf” and each wild dog has unique markings.

You started up the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust – at the time called the Botswana Wild Dog Research Project – in 1989. It is now 2013, and you are still here. How did a Seattle native end up in the Okavango Delta to begin with? Have you ever been tempted to leave? 

Yes, I had entertained some ideas about ‘what next’ and making decisions about ‘a career’ as a behavioral ecologist. Having finished a doctorate in 1995, and only been away from the field for less than three months, I had returned to Botswana to continue with the Wild Dog Research Project, with FZS continuing its support for the project. I considered it a self-designed Postdoc. However, by 1999, Lesley and I had been married and had our first son, and we felt a 10-year life change might be in order.

When we suggested that we were thinking about leaving Botswana, we suddenly received a ration of criticism about leaving wild dogs ‘with nobody to look after them’ and speak out on their behalf from all directions, including from people we didn’t even know (but who clearly knew about us and our project). With complete understanding of this general sentiment, we decided we should work on a compromise. What we envisioned was being attached to a university faculty where we could both be involved with teaching half the year (Lesley has a graduate degree in Development Anthropology) and continue to maintain the ongoing predator conservation research project in Botswana with students, enabling us to be part-time in the field and part-time on a campus.

We took a ‘sabbatical year’ away from the research camp in Montreal where Lesley was finishing her coursework for a PhD at McGill. Our son Madison was 3 years old and we had our second son Wilder on the way as we deliberated about our future. It became clear that for us to continue to obtain the type of financial support we needed to continue and to expand our predator conservation program (all of which came from personal connections with private donors and small foundations (FZS discontinued funding in 2000, with the passing of the former Director, Dr. Richard Faust).

So, we returned to Botswana after Wilder was born and carried on while expanding and growing the predator conservation research project, now with graduate students and an expanding research staff.

The hunting prowess of these stealthy predators is due to close cooperation in the pack.

When you began your work in Botswana, not much was known about African wild dogs. Do you feel that this has changed? How would you compare our knowledge and understanding of African wild dogs to that of better-known predators such as lions or cheetahs?

When I began my field studies of wild dogs there was little known about wild dogs and what we did know about their social behavior and basic natural history was from spotty observations over a period of about 11 years in the Serengeti short grass ecosystem. It did not take a genius to realize that, for starters, our understanding of this species was incomplete (at best), given that these animals clearly are not species of the short grass plains. Since I was finding them much more associated with the woodlands, even when open habitats were available.

In the early publications about wild dogs, a great deal was made about their social structure being unusual for a mammal: the interpretations of the collective observations of the wild dogs in the Serengeti described them as patrilineally organized social carnivores, where males were described as the caregivers, raising and caring for the young, and the comparatively more philopatric sex, while females were the free-to-disperse sex (liberated so to speak, which I believe was embraced in the U.S. when it was first published – at least partly because it was appealing in the socio-political environment of the early 1970s). Even though my research has attempted to correct this misperception (based on incomplete observations of long-term patterns), it persists even today in animal behavior textbooks as an unusual mammalian social system.

Despite this, our understanding of this spectacular, endangered African predator is deep and at least as detailed now as for any other large carnivore including more ‘popular’ iconic species of the African large predator guild such as cheetahs and lions.

Wild dogs differ from other canines in having only four toes on each foot instead of five.

It is often said that wild dogs are one of the most misunderstood of Africa’s wildlife species, and you have addressed this issue in the book you co-published, Running Wild: Dispelling the Myths of the African Wild Dog. What are some of these myths, and why do you think they have been so persistent?

Nothing in the past 16 years since I wrote the text of Running Wild has changed in terms of my understanding of the historical and current relationships between people and African wild dogs. If anything, my early perceptions, understanding, and interpretations of the lore associated with this species have been supported by our long-term observations of the species and by the ever-increasing interactions we have with people on behalf of wild dogs. I believe that in general, people who are interested in wildlife have made notable advances in their understanding of wild dogs, especially among wildlife tourists, and guides who work in the industry, but also among educated local Africans in general.

However, among the less educated, rural-area Africans, informally educated by elders or not at all, the age-old myths about wild dogs, and especially the threats they represent to people (a common belief is ‘they will kill and eat anybody they catch wandering around out in the bush’) continue to be part of their narrative.

What is interesting about the perceptions that popularly characterized wild dogs historically, and although less so, still today, is that they were almost universally negative. Whereas, particularly in Western culture, other large carnivores, especially the cats, were seen as noble, majestic, and ‘kings’ of the African savannas worthy of our respect. In contrast, wild dogs were seen as vermin, ruthless killers and worthless members of the carnivore community.

Why this is so is anybody’s guess, but I still believe it relates to our long history of close associations with domestic dogs – dogs are a part of our homes, families, and lives. They also feature in very specific ways in the cultural transmission of the Western world’s narrative (cf. Lassie, Ole Yeller, Rintintin, Little Red Riding Hood, The 3 Little Pigs, etc.). Perhaps as a consequence, there is a general reaction to, or interpretation of the behavior of wild dogs that is visceral and almost innately condemning in nature of any pack of wild dogs seen to be ‘ganging up on and ripping apart Bambi,’ so to speak.

One of your aims is to reduce or prevent conflict between humans and predators. How do you go about this? Has it been successful? What still needs to happen for a more or less peaceful coexistence between people and African wild dogs in Botswana to be possible?

Perhaps the most important aspect of attempting to shift attitudes and behaviors to be more tolerant towards wild dogs and carnivores generally is information.  The absence of information or understanding is fertile ground for apathy and antipathy. Inversely, a little bit of compelling education about wild animals goes a long way toward planting the seeds of empathy.  So, various projects at BPCT, those that involve an interface with communities, have education and awareness as a guiding principle. In addition, we believe by applying knowledge of the behavior of wild animals to addressing specific management issues that we can add details to the (admittedly limited) set of tools available for mitigating the costs of free-ranging predators in landscapes variously populated with people and livestock and maybe even add some new and innovative effective tools to that toolbox (cf. our Bioboundary Research Project).

In the end, whatever that might look like, we have to acknowledge that some individuals of certain species (especially among large carnivores) are not going to be friendly, benign neighbors, able to coexist with people and livestock, and we should not expect people to have to give way in all or certain circumstances or landscapes. We do not expect a warm embrace or peaceful harmony, but a greater tolerance, understanding of the value (at all levels) of wildlife, and empathy for all living things would be an ideal to aspire to.

Wild dogs live in packs of six to 20 and have a life span of up to eleven years in the wild.

How do you see the future of the wild dog across Africa? Is it one that is changing for the better, or is their existence still fragile? What do you think needs to be done in the next ten years to secure their future?

The future of African wild dogs is by no means secure in the indefinite future. In fact, the future of wildlife in general is increasingly at risk as human populations continue to grow. There are more than a billion people in Africa today. Wildlife is being extirpated at increasing rates almost everywhere with few exceptions. If we are going to place the responsibility for the future of the world’s wildlife and biodiversity at the feet of wildlife-based tourism, solely justifying its protection on its derived economic value, as opposed to engendering an ethos and an ethic of intrinsic value in the natural world and non-human living things, then I fear the long-term future for anything consumable or disposable, is less than rosy.

However, we continue to commit our lives and resources to doing what we can because: 1) we might be able to make a difference in the long run; and 2) we need to while the option is still available.

Wild dog packs are dominated by a breeding pair with pups cared for by the entire pack.

Marcus and Kate were hosted by Sanctuary Retreats (www.sanctuaryretreats.com).

To find out more about the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust (BPCT) go to: www.bpctrust.org.

To see more photos by Marcus and Kate, visit their website (www.lifethroughalens.com) or follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LTALP). 

As Mayor Rahm Emanuel reaches his second anniversary leading the City of Chicago, our “city in a garden” reflects on dramatic progress and continuing efforts to make Chicago one of the most competitive, livable, and environmentally sustainable places on the planet.

In two short years, Chicago has accelerated sustainability and environment-related work that is transforming life in the city with wide-reaching, positive impact.  Sustainable Chicago 2015 , Mayor Emanuel’s 3-year sustainability action agenda, underscores seven themes, 24 goals, and 100 concrete actions that build on Chicago’s legacy of environmental stewardship and leadership on behalf of its residents. This road map is rooted in 2008’s  Chicago Climate Action Plan , which set ambitious goals on climate change mitigation and adaptation — including a 25 percent reduction in the city’s greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2020 and an 80 percent reduction in those emissions by 2050.

According to Mayor Emanuel, “A sustainable Chicago is a city that spends less on energy use with each passing year, creates good-paying jobs in up-and-coming industries, responsibly maintains and upgrades its infrastructure, and ensures every Chicagoan has the opportunities to live a healthy and active lifestyle.” To that end, the administration and its partners have undertaken high-impact effort in each of Sustainable Chicago 2015’s seven thematic areas.

The first of Sustainable Chicago’s seven themes focuses on Economic Development and Job Creation (#1), which are at the heart of Mayor Emanuel’s sustainability vision as well as his broader policy agenda. Establishing Chicago as a hub for the growing sustainable economy demands good jobs, such as the  600 new summer roles added to the GreenCorps youth program, along with 120 year-round job opportunities in 2013. The City is driving innovation and seeding ideas for new analysis, applications, and sustainable business models by posting more than 84 sustainability-related datasets to its renowned data portal. These data reinforce private sector efforts — such as World Business Chicago’s ChicagoNEXT Council on Innovation and Technology, a digital startup incubator, and one of the Midwest’s premiere clean energy business competitions — to accelerate Chicago’s economy in ways that reinforce our climate goals.

In light of Chicago’s iconic skyline and rich architectural heritage, Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy (#2) to power our buildings are also central to Sustainable Chicago 2015. In 2012, the City launched Retrofit Chicago as a cross-sector program to drive efficiency across municipal assets, commercial buildings, and the residential real estate sector. The City is assessing efficiency opportunities across city-owned assets and will soon be kicking off deep retrofits and other efforts to save taxpayer money through cutting edge efficiency. In March 2013, Retrofit Chicago’s Commercial Buildings Initiative — a voluntary program by which business leaders commit to at least 20 percent energy use reduction within 5 years — grew to include 32 facilities and 28 million square feet, and Retrofit Chicago’s Residential Partnership is helping owners to retrofit thousands of Chicago homes easily and affordably. Building on the 2012 closure of the last coal-burning power plants in Chicago, Municipal energy aggregation is now providing millions of residents and small businesses with access to less expensive, coal-free energy, coupled with recent efforts to streamline zoning and permittingprocesses for renewable energy. Chicago continues to lead the way in Energy Star and LEED certified buildings and is actively exploring other ways to enable Chicagoans to save money and energy at home and work.

World-class cities require world-class Transportation Options (#3), and Chicago is taking decisive steps to enable fast, efficient, clean mobility for residents and guests. Within Mayor Emanuel’s first years in office, Chicago’s taxi fleet saw a 416 percent increase in fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, with 3,500 total hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles. The City’s efforts to green its own fleet and operations, along with innovative incentives to drive private fleet conversions, are also garnering attention. Chicago Transit Authority bus overhauls, an ongoing $1 billion U.S. dollar investment in passenger train infrastructure, 34 miles of new bike lanes constructed in 2012, a new bus rapid transit pilot, and sustainability efforts at both of Chicago’s international airports are ensuring coordinated, multi-modal transportation services to connect Chicagoans with each other and to the places they need to go.

With an eye toward resource stewardship, Chicago’s efforts onWater and Wastewater (#4) and Waste and Recycling (#6)display a practical, action-oriented approach. Water infrastructure investment in 2012 across 70 miles of water mains, 17 miles of sewers, and 14,000 catch basins is helping Chicago preserve fresh water resources and manage water runoff, and we’re also working to maximize access and enjoyment of our scenic lake andriverfront areas. By year-end, managed competition for recycling services will have yielded a 38 percent decrease in costs, which — combined with grid-based waste collection — will enableexpanded curbside recycling to all 340,000 Chicago households. Businesses, schools, and construction industryare all taking part in dedicated efforts to divert landfill waste

Chicago’s perspective on sustainability also includes access to Parks, Open Space, and Healthy Food (#5) that shape the way we live. Forward-thinking land use policy and community collaboration enabled the launch of “Farmers for Chicago,” a network that provides training to urban entrepreneurs, makes vacant city lots available for farming, and expands local supply chains for food retailers. From our award-winning green restaurants, to multi-million U.S. dollar investments in playgrounds, school learning gardens, and landmark urban recreational trails, we are making sure that all Chicagoans are able to make the most of our city’s vast offerings.

Whether by creating 21st-century jobs, providing world-class recreational outlets, advancing healthy options for Chicagoans, or working to protect Chicago’s abundant natural resources, Mayor Emanuel is focused on improving quality of life, enhancing residents’ economic prospects, and “fostering opportunities for Chicagoans to make sustainability a part of their lives and their experience of the city.” In doing all of this, we are addressing Climate Change (#6) today to shape the Chicago of tomorrow.

Achieving these ambitious goals requires deeply seated partnerships with sustainable local business and community organizations, as well as with global leaders and multinational organizations. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group provides a platform for collaboration across regions on many of the issues that matter most to our residents and those of global C40 peers. As chair of C40’s Sustainable Infrastructure Finance Network, and through participation in various networks in C40’s finance and economic development, energy, and transportation initiatives, Chicago looks forward to continued sharing and coordinated action as Mayor Emanuel moves into the second half of his first term in office.

For more information:

• Twitter: @SustainChicago
• Email: sustainability@cityofchicago.org