Joe Dudley project

June 9, 2021

University Relations

Research findings from UAF PhD Candidate Joe Dudley's 1995 EARTHWATCH Project are ranked as one of the 9 most scientifically important "milestone" projects in it's entire 50 year history, which includes a total of over 1,400 projects in 131 countries and 46 U.S. states.

Joe and EARTHWATCH volunteers from his "Elephant Factor" research project in Hwange National Park ZIMBABWE made the first scientific observations and documented records of carnivory by African hippos, which prove that the common hippo Hippopotamus amphibius is not a true herbivore, but actually the earth's only living mega-omnivore species.

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Dudley, J.P. 1996. Record of carnivory, scavenging and predation for Hippopotamus amphibius in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Mammalia 60(3): 486-490.

Dudley, J.P.  1998.  Reports of carnivory by the common hippo Hippopotamus amphibius.  South African Journal of Wildlife Research 28(2): 58-59.

Dudley JP,  Hang’ombe BM, Leendertz F, Dorward L, de Castro J, Subalusky A, Clauss M. 2016. Carnivory in the common hippo Hippopotamus amphibius: implications for the ecology of anthrax in African landscapes. Mammal Review 46(3): 191-203.

WEBSITE INFO SOURCES

https://earthwatch.org/about/history

https://earthwatch.org/research/research-outcomes

SEE ALSO

https://www.iab.uaf.edu/about/iab-timeline