Geochemical analysis of African buffalo geophagic sites and dung on Mount Kenya, East Africa
- 1 January 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH in Mammalia
- Vol. 54 (1) , 25-+
- https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1990.54.1.25
Abstract
Paleosols (ancient soils) and dung of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer Sparrman) were analyzed for their elemental contents using neutron activation analysis in an attempt to discover possible stimuli for geographic behaviour. The data indicate that the major elements A1 and Fe are the most likely chemical stimuli for geophagic behaviour. Sodium chloride and Ca do not appear to be involved in buffalo mining behaviour on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element distributions show that the dung may be heavily laden with paleosol (up to 50%) indicating that buffalo ingest relatively large quantities of paleosols.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Acclimatization to Low Oxygen TensionPhysiological Reviews, 1953