A study by a University of Pretoria researcher into the ablution habits of white rhinos in the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, has revealed that these animals use their place of defecation to communicate with each other and take decisions that can affect their ecology.

On average, mammals move distances two to three times shorter in human-modified landscapes than they do in the wild. These findings are published in the prestigious journal Science by a large international team lead by researchers at the Senckenberg Nature Research Society and Goethe University Frankfurt. It is the first time this topic has been examined at a global scale and for many different species at once. The authors highlight that these results may have far reaching consequences for ecosystems and in turn, for society.