Ellard, M. - E., & Crowell-Davis, S. L. (1989). Evaluating equine dominance in draft mares. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 24(1), 55–75.
Abstract: The social hierarchy of a herd of 12 draft mares was assessed using agonism in the field, paired-feeding tests and a group-feeding test. Results from the paired-feeding test correlated significantly, but imperfectly, with those from the field. Differential motivation among subjects for the feed and disruption of ambiguous relationships among mares reduced the reliability of the paired-feeding test as a measure of social dominance. Results from the group-feeding test did not correlate significantly with the field hierarchy and only a few mares ever ate from the bucket. Height, weight and age each correlated significantly with rank; a mare's tendency to remain alone did not. Total aggressive scores during the paired-feeding test correlated with rank. However, a high-ranking mare was no more aggressive to each of her subordinates than was a low-ranking mare. Rather, all mares aggressed more against individuals close in rank to themselves and with preferred field associates. In the field, mares associated most with other mares of similar rank.
|
Crowell-Davis, S. L., & Caudle, A. B. (1989). Coprophagy by foals: recognition of maternal feces. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 24(3), 267–272.
Abstract: Six foals were each observed for 4 h per week during the first 6 weeks of life in an experimental situation in which they had access to feces taken from their mother and from another mare which was not pregnant or lactating. The foals sniffed at the feces equally. Two foals engaged in a total of seven bouts of coprophagy. All bouts of coprophagy involved maternal feces (χ2; P<0.01).
|
|
Duncan, I. J. H., & Petherick, J. C. (1989). Proceeding (Paper presented at the Winter Meeting of the Society for Veterinary Ethology, London, Great Britain, 30 November 1988)Cognition: The implications for animal welfare. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 24(1), 81–1010.
|
Kondo, S., Sekine, J., Okubo, M., & Asahida, Y. (1989). The effect of group size and space allowance on the agonistic and spacing behavior of cattle. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 24(2), 127–135.
Abstract: The number of agonistic encounters in a group (frequency per h) and the mean distance to the nearest neighbor in a group (m) were analyzed by a multiple regression on the group size (number of animals in a group) and space allowance (m3 per animal) in each group of calves (6–13 months old, Holstein female and castrated male) and adult cattle (2–12 years old, Holstein heifers and cows or Holstein and Hereford grazing beef cattle). A total of 196 calves and 602 adult animals were used in this analysis. In calves, a significant correlation was found between agonistic behavior and space allowance (r=-0.48, P<0.01), but not between agonistic behavior and group sizes. The mean distance to the nearest neighbor in calf groups increased as the group size decreased and space allowance increased (R2=0.66, P<0.01). In adult cattle, the number of agonistic encounters increased linearly as the group size increased (r=+0.37, P<0.05). The relationship between agonistic behavior and 1(space allowance)2 was significant (r=+0.48, P<0.05). The mean distance to the nearest neighbor tended to increase as the group size decreased and the space allowance increased (R2=0.68, P<0.01). When the space allowance increased beyond 360 m2 per animal, the average distance to the nearest neighbor in the adult group was maintained within the range of 10–12 m.
|
Lynch, J. J., Hinch, G. N., Bouissou, M. F., Elwin, R. L., Green, G. C., & Davies, H. I. (1989). Social organization in young Merino and Merino x Border Leicester ewes. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 22(1), 49–63.
Abstract: The social behaviour of two groups of Merino ewes and one group of Merino x Border Leicester ewes was studied. Each group comprised eight sheep, 15 months of age and, within each group, the animals were of similar liveweight. Dominance rankings were established at each test, but there was little consistency in ewe rank over time. Similarly, little consistency was found in ewe ranking for movement order between pens, and for exploratory and fear test rankings. However, with tests on movement orders, some consistency in the sheep which ranked first was shown. In the field, no aggression was seen while sheep were grazing and there were no occasions when ranking related to movement could be observed. There were short-term associations between pairs of sheep, but these occurred in less than half the individuals. Although the spatial distribution was not studied, the lack of long-term association between pairs would suggest that strong spatial preference does not occur. It is concluded that the social organization of single-age Merino and Merino x Border Leicester ewes is not based on dominance or leadership ranking nor on long-term associations between individuals.
|
McCall, C. A. (1989). The effect of body condition of horses on discrimination learning abilities. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 22(3-4), 327–334.
Abstract: Discriminative learning abilities were studied in 12 mature, malnourished horses. All horses initially received a condition score (CS) between 2 and 4 on a scale of 1 (poor) to 9 (extremely fat). Then horses were assigned to one of 3 treatments based on their eventual, rehabilitated CS during discrimination testing: thin, CS 1-3; moderate, CS 4-6; and fat, CS 7-9. The discrimination learning task was performed for 14 days with a maximum of 20 trials per day. Daily criterion was set at eight consecutively correct trails. Total trials to first criteria and total errors during testing were recorded. Analysis of variance showed that treatments did not differ (P>0.05) in total trials to first criterion, however horses on the fat treatment did have higher total error scores (P<0.05) than horses on the thin or moderate treatments. This difference was probably owing to lack of motivation in the fat treatment horses, rather than to true learning ability differences. The sex of the horse did not significantly affect either learning score.
|
Feh, C. (1988). Social behaviour and relationships of Prezewalski horses in Dutch semi-reserves. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 21(1-2), 71–87.
Abstract: A short-term study was made of 2 groups of Przewalski horses, a bachelor group of 4 juvenile stallions in Ooij Polder and a harem group of 1 stallion and 4 mares. All social interactions were recorded and the nearest and farthest neighbour was noted. Correspondence analysis was used to determine what parameters determined the relationships among the horses. There was a linear hierarchy among the bachelor stallions. The dominant stallion of the group was also the oldest. The hierarchy was not linear in the harem group, and the 3-year-old stallion was subordinate to the 5-year-old mares. He was also most likely to be farthest from other horses. The mares of the same age, who had also arrived in the park at the same time, tended to be one another's nearest neighbours. The frequency of aggression is higher among Przewalski horses than among domestic horses of similar ages. Correspondence analysis revealed that head-threats and other forms of aggression accounted for more of the variance in the data than any other behaviour, but submission, play and social interactions also contributed.
|
Keiper, R. R. (1988). Social interactions of the Przewalski horse (Equus przewalskii Poliakov, 1881) herd at the Munich Zoo. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 21(1-2), 89–97.
Abstract: Data were collected on 972 aggressions and 233 acts of mutual grooming in a herd of 9 Przewalski horses in the Hellabrunn Tierpark in Munich, West Germany. The herd was composed of 1 adult stallion, 5 adult mares and 3 foals. A distinct linear dominance hierarchy was present in the herd, with the stallion being the top-ranking animal. Age was significantly correlated with rank. Almost 40% of all aggressions consisted of herding actions by the stallion. Threats to bite (20% of all aggressions) and threats to kick (11.4%) were next in frequency of occurrence. Most mutual grooms (71%) involved grooming the front part of the body. Although mutual grooming may be used to appease higher-ranked animals, most grooming bouts were between related horses. Foals initiate 47.6% of all allogrooming. Mutual grooming may reduce weaning conflict between a mare and her foal or may result in female coalitions that defend against predators or aggression by the herd stallion.
|
Hogan, E. S., Houpt, K. A., & Sweeney, K. (1988). The effect of enclosure size on social interactions and daily activity patterns of the captive Asiatic wild horse (Equus przewalskii). Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 21(1-2), 147–168.
Abstract: Two herds of Przewalski horses at the Minnesota Zoological Garden were observed during 1980 in each of 2 enclosures that differed in size. The larger enclosure was a 3.4-ha pasture; the smaller enclosure was a 17 x 30-m grass-less pen. One herd was composed of a stallion, 3 adult mares and 2 foals. The other consisted of a stallion and 2 mares. All occurrences of aggression, mutual grooming and snapping were recorded, and 5-min scan-samples of the activity state of each horse were taken. The time budgets, frequency of aggression and frequency of mutual grooming differed significantly with enclosure size for both herds. More time was spent pacing and milling in the smaller enclosure, and the frequency of aggressions and of mutual grooming was also higher. Only the foals exhibited snapping; frequency of snapping did not vary with enclosure size. More time was spent feeding in the larger enclosure. Provision of hay in the smaller enclosure eliminated the differences in time spent feeding. A second study was conducted during the spring of 1984 in an intermediate-sized enclosure, 0.4 ha, a sub-division of the pasture on which the horses were kept in 1980. One herd consisted of a stallion, 2 mares and 2 yearlings; the other consisted of a stallion, 3 mares and a foal. One of the stallions and all of the mares were those studied in 1980, but that stallion and one of the mares were in different herds than they had been in 1980. The frequency of aggression was similar to that observed in 1980.
|
Tilson, R. L., Sweeny, K. A., Binczik, G. A., & Reindl, N. J. (1988). Buddies and bullies: Social structure of a bachelor group of Przewalski horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 21(1-2), 169–185.
Abstract: The Minnesota Zoological Garden established a bachelor (i.e. all-male) group of 8 Przewalski horses (Equus przewalskii) in 1984. Possible methods for mixing males emerged through preliminary introductions and review of the relevant literature. These included: (1) grouping colts (<=3 years old) after removing them from their natal bands; (2) introducing adult stallions to colts in spacious, controlled environments to reduce the risk of combat-related injury or death associated with largely unpredictable adult temperament; (3) introducing more than 1 animal at a time to established groups. Based on the frequency and orientation of agonistic interactions observed among the bachelors, a linear dominance hierarchy was discerned among the 4 adult stallions; all 4 colts were determined to be of equally low or seemingly non-ranking status. Social rank among the adults was most influenced by individual temperament, and contention for rank was limited almost exclusively to the 3 lower-ranking stallions; the alpha male participated in 73% of all agonistic interactions observed, but was identified as the recipient in less than 3% of these interactions. Intra-band associations were detected in the bachelor group. The most prevalent of these was among the 4 colts, found together in over 70% of the observations. Other affinities commonly observed were between the colts (as a sub-group) and different stallions. The dominant stallion, the colts' most frequent companion, actively discouraged the 3 lower-ranking stallions from associating with the colts. Further, the colts were subjected to significantly fewer agonistic behaviors than the non-alpha stallions (per colt=1.05+/-0.24 h-1; per non-alpha stallion=2.01+/-0.04 h-1). These findings support the hypothesis developed by other workers for ungulates that young bachelors are sheltered from aggression by association with an alpha male. With one exception, adult associations were rarely noted. Although combat-related injuries (superficial wounds and temporary lameness) were common among the bachelors, few required medical attention. No permanent disabilities or deaths have occurred since the group's inception. The existence of social organization and intra-band associations in the bachelor group support the suggestion that such groups were once a natural part of this species' social milieu. Bachelor groups are therefore recommended as an ethologically sound, space- and cost-effective means of managing “surplus” (i.e. non-harem) male Przewalski horses.
|
