Abstract: Abstract. This study assessed whether keas,Nestor notabilis, are able to cooperate in an instrumental task. Seven birds of a captive group were tested in group situations and in dyads. At least two individuals had to manipulate an apparatus to obtain food but only one participant was rewarded. One bird had to push down a lever to enable another one to collect food from a box. The distribution of the two different roles was clearly dependent on hierarchy. The higher ranking individual always obtained the reward and each bird changed its role according to dominance status. Owing to the non-linear hierarchy in the group, each bird participating in cooperative interactions had at least one submissive partner. Therefore, in group situations the reward was distributed symmetrically and cooperation was persistent. In dyadic test situations, three individual keas aggressively manipulated their respective subordinate partners to open the apparatus. Their dominance status enabled them to force cooperation.

Abstract: Changes in populations of several ungulate species in the Serengeti-Mara region of East Africa over the past 30 years suggest several hypotheses for their regulation and coexistence. Recent censuses in the 1980s have allowed us to test the hypotheses that: (1) there was competition between wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsoni). This predicted that gazelle numbers should have declined in the 1980s when wildebeest were food limited. Census figures show no change in gazelle numbers between 1978 and 1986, a result contrary to the interspecific competition hypothesis; (2) wildebeest and African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) populations were regulated by intraspecific competition for food. Since both populations reached food limitation in the 1970s, the hypothesis predicted that the populations should have been stable in the 1980s. The results confirm these predictions for wildebeest and the buffalo population in the Mara reserve. In the Serengeti the buffalo population declined 41% over the period 1976-1984. The decline was not evenly distributed over the park, some areas showing an 80-90% decline, others no change or an increase in numbers. The decline was associated with proximity to human habitation; (3) an outbreak of the viral disease, rinderpest, in 1982 may have been the cause of the drop in buffalo population. Blood serum samples to measure the prevalence of antibodies were collected from areas of decreasing, stable and increasing populations. If rinderpest was the cause of decrease there should be a negative relationship between the prevalence of rinderpest and the instantaneous rate of increase (r). The results showed no relationship. We conclude that rinderpest was not the major cause of the drop in buffalo numbers. Elephant (Loxodonta africana) numbers dropped 81% in Serengeti in the period 1977-1986. In the Mara there was little change. The evidence suggests that extensive poaching in northern and western Serengeti during 1979-1984 accounted for the drop in both elephant and buffalo numbers.

Abstract: Introduction
Many scientists agree that information on the learning abilities of horses should be used in developing training methods (Fiske and Potter, 1979; Mader and Price, 1980; McCall, 1990) but nevertheless research where such knowledge is put to the test is limited (Flannery, 1997). Foals that are handled continuously between 4 and 22 months of age were quicker learners and were easier to train than those that got less handling (Fiske and Potter, 1979). The handling involved being lead, brushed, and acclimated to restraint. In some studies more relaxed foals learned more and were easier to train later on than stressed foals (Fiske and Potter, 1979; Heird et al, 1986) while no such correlation was found in another study (Mader and Price 1980). It is commonly believed, and has been established with tests, that younger horses are quicker-learners than mature (Mader and Price, 1980; Houpt, 1982), but the question remains to be answered if a certain age is better than another and if so, if the optimum time differs between breeds.
The idea of imprint training (Miller, 2000) is controversial but seems to be popular in the USA. Miller found that foals that had been treated by veterinarians at birth were easier to handle later on. He associated this with what Konrad Lorenz called imprint learning (1937), which involved irreversible learning taking place during a sensitive period early in life. Miller claims that the idea has been tested scientifically but no such papers are covered by Wed of Science. To our knowledge one systematic research has been carried out whose results will be published this year (Jennifer Williams, personal communication). Miller (2000) claims that it is very important to stroke and handle the foals quickly after birth (hence the reference to the imprinting concept) and desensitize them to touch and other interventions. A study by Mal et al (1994) did not support the claim that very young foals are more sensitive to treatment than older foals. It is possible that what we are witnessing when the foals seem relaxed after stroking is not “imprinting” but “learned helplessness”.
In Iceland where mares give birth out in the field within the herd (usually herds of mares, sub-adults and sometimes geldings) it is customary not to disturb the mare and foal for the first hours of the foal's life. That fact and the custom in many places to let the foals stay with their dams within large groups in the wilderness from 1-2 months of age till autumn, would mean that continuous handling would not have a practical value for most Icelandic horse owners. We wanted to test the idea that early handling and training of foals should calm the foals considerably and teach them valuable lessons, which would make training later on easier.

Abstract: Summary The effects of various factors on the inflammatory and stress response in horses during transportation were examined in Experiments 1 and 2, carried out in April and August, respectively. In Experiment 1, three groups (G1-G3) of four Thoroughbreds were used, and in Experiment 2, two groups (G4, G5). G1 animals were loaded into lorries with their heads facing forwards (FF) and given periods of short rest (SR) (30 min for every 4 h driven). G2 horses were loaded facing rearwards (FR) and given SR. G3 horses were FF and given periods of long rest (LR) (2 h rest for every 4 h driven). G4 horses were transported FF with hay suspended in front of them and no cleaning of faeces or urine during rest stops. G5 horses were FF and given pellets instead of hay, and the lorry was cleaned and washed at each rest stop. G4 and G5 horses were rested for 1 h after every 5 h of driving. All groups were driven a distance of 1500 km, and the total journey time was 37 h for G1 and G2, 49 h for G3, and 40 h for G4 and G5. In Experiment 1, indicators of inflammatory and stress responses tended to be highest in G1, intermediate in G2 and lowest in G3. In Experiment 2 they tended to be higher in G4 than in G5. The results suggested that increasing the rest time and cleaning the interior of the vehicle during rest stops reduced transportation stress and respiratory insults, factors that may lead to respiratory disease.