First Fossil Hyena Tracks Found in South Africa – How Expert Animal Trackers Help

“Tracing the art is likely the origin of science.” This is the starting point for Louis Liebenberg, co-founder of an organization dedicated to environmental monitoring.

What people have done since prehistoric is that the connection between tracking nature and “Western” science is particularly interesting to us as epidemiologists. (Epidemiology is the study of orbits and traces.) We learn our skills relatively late in life. But imagine if we learned from childhood and as adults, did we track our lives? What other visual and cognitive talents will we bring as scientists?

Our mission is to find and record fossil trajectories and traces that existed in part of the Pleistocene period, 35,000 to 400,000 years ago on the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. More than 370 vertebrate orbits have been identified since 2008 through the Africa Paleo-Science Center at Nelson Mandela University. They essentially complement traditional body fossil records. Examples include the tracks of giant turtles and giraffes.

Given the challenges inherent in identifying such tracks, we wondered how the hunters who tracked their lifetime viewed our work, and how ancient Indigenous expertise aligned with our approach.

Fortunately, we can call on experts with these skills in Southern Africa. Ju/’Hoansi (pronounced “Juun-kwasi”) in northeastern Namibia, San People is perhaps the last of the last indigenous people in southern Africa who retained all suites of their ancient environmental skills. The Nyae Nyae reserve they live in allows them to use at least the remaining wildlife to access at least some of the historical land. They still hunt with bows and poisoned arrows and collect increasingly crazy food.

A few of them are considered Indigenous Master Trackers, a title created by Liebenberg’s Cybertracker initiative in recognition of their top hunter-gatherer status. So in the second half of 2023, the overall tracker #ma (“komma”)daqm and /uce (“tchu-shey”)nǂamce arrive in Cape Town.

We are not the first to think along these lines. JU/’Hoansi Master Trackers has assisted scientists in interpreting human repertoire in French caves and prehistoric repertoire in the rock art record in Namibia. However, we know that track and field fields that we usually have poorly preserved in wind smoke (cement dunes) can present a tougher challenge.

Our aim is to compare our interpretation of fossil track and field with that of the main tracker and possibly find something we overlook. As we proposed in a recent paper with Ju/’Hoansi Trackers and our colleague Jan de Vynck as co-authors, they did do this, confirming the first ever fossil Hyena Trackway.

Exchange technology

The late Pleistocene is not out of reach with the present (only 125,000 years), and many species of track and field on the southern coast are still with us. Some are extinct, but have recognizable tracks such as giant long-horned buffaloes and giant zebra horns.

However, we know that tracking in Kalahari Sand is not the same as tracking on the Pleistocene rock surface, like Ju/’Hoansi Do. Many of our tracks are preserved on the ceiling and overhanging bottom surfaces, or are evident in cliff exposure. Our track and field surfaces are usually small and there are no relevant signs. We cannot follow any distance. We don’t know when the time of day we made tracks or dewy characters, and we never managed to track down our quarry. Cocrolites – fossil feces are rarely found next to the depositor’s track.

We show our new colleagues the well-known fossil track without providing our own explanation. #OMA and /UCE discuss these between them and introduce their conclusions on the reasons for making the repertoire and how the animals behave. We then shared our insights and 3D photogrammetry data where applicable and came to a joint conclusion.

Soon, they can identify the newly exposed track and field field without our input and provide fascinating new explanations for the websites that plague us. For example, they saw the ostrich track we missed, next to the ostrich egg residue and concluded that we might be looking at a fossil ostrich nest. On another occasion, they point to the unique track pattern of bush hares hanging on the eroded cliff walls.

The first fossil hyena track

One of the most memorable experiences is a 400,000-historical track on the rocky surface of Dana Bay, determined several years ago by local geologists Aleck and Ilona Birch. The rock has been exposed for only a few days temporarily over the past decade and is usually covered by sand.

Our earlier explanation was that the track and field makers might be hyena, maybe brown hyena.

We were proven when our overall tracker colleagues independently reached the same conclusion. Studying our digital 3D images together strengthens our collective judgment.

This is important: This is the first fossil hyena track that can be identified confidently, as previous examples only involve single tracks or poorly preserved track segments. The hyena’s track is unique: the forefoot track is much larger than the hindfoot track.

Different ways of observing

We both have privileges to have university degrees and institutional affiliation. But there is another way to measure acuity: use ancient methods of discernment and pattern recognition to support and feed your own families and communities through tracking, hunting, and gatherings.

We believe that what we prove is a new and new way to reveal new fusions of past characteristics. We use geological understanding, satellite technology, paleontological databases, tracking manuals and complex dating methods. But hunter-gatherers see what makes us and our drones escape: coma stroke and insanity surface. They utilize an alternative knowledge base, both cultural acceptance and cultivation from an early age.

The subsequent challenge must be to build such partnerships that discover and reward each other, understand the past, to better prevent us from determining our future.

This article is republished from the conversation, a non-profit independent news organization that brings you factual and trustworthy analysis to help you understand our complex world. It is written by: Charles Helm Nelson Mandela University and Clive Thompson, Nelson Mandela University

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Clive Thompson is a trustee of Discovery Wilderness Trust, a nonprofit that supports environmental protection and promotes tracking skills.

Charles Helm does not apply to, consult, own shares of companies or companies that benefit from any company or organization, and does not disclose any relevant affiliation outside of their academic appointments.