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An animal’s social environment can influence individual physiological and reproductive status, which might have implications for the success of ex situ conservation programs. This study investigated the relationship between an individual’s position in the social hierarchy, body and antler size, testosterone concentration, and seminal traits in male pampas deer maintained in all-male groups. The study was performed in a semi-captive population in Uruguay during the rut. Data were collected over a 4 year period from 18 different males kept in five groups each of 4–7 adult males (2–7 y old). An index of individual hierarchical success (hierarchical index; HI) was determined based on agonistic interactions with other males within the group. Males positioned higher in the social hierarchy had larger antlers (p = 0.02). In three out of four groups, testosterone was positively correlated with HI (p

Out of rut, male red deer (Cervus elaphus) associate themselves in bachelor groups where animals compete for rank position via agonistic interactions. In a previous study on red deer, males were recognized either as “Non-Fighters” (NF, low frequency of attacks) or “Fighters” (F, high frequency of attacks). This study, therefore, aims to verify the consistency of the inter-individual differences in fighting attitude across different social contexts and investigate whether they could be considered an individual characteristic. Behavioral consistency was presumed across three different sampling seasons, assuming that NF would have lower cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) concentrations than the F males. In 2015 the males were kept in one large group and labelled NF and F. In 2016, the herd was divided into two subgroups (“NF” and “F”) based on the frequency of attacks. Finally, in 2017, the males were divided into two randomly composed subgroups. Data about agonistic behavior and concentration of C and T were collected during each season. In 2015 the individuals differed only for the fighting attitude. After the division, the frequency of the attacks always increased, being consistently lower in NF than in F. Unexpectedly, a slight increase in the concentration of C was detected in the NF in 2016, compared to the F who experienced no difference neither in 2015 nor 2017. No significant differences were found in T. We concluded that, even though the males had shown behavioral plasticity, their diversified interaction-prone attitude had been maintained despite the modifications of the social environment.

Reviews summarizing the literature on heritability of behavioural traits in dogs have been published repeatedly over the last four decades. The conclusions of these reviews vary to some extent. We applied meta-analysis and re-evaluated the literature available collecting 48 references dealing with heritability of behavioural traits in domestic dogs. For each study included, data was extracted for individual behavioural traits. Each of these traits was entered into the analysis as a separate unit of measure, giving a total of 1763 measures. We classified the traits measured in each study into five functional categories (Environment, Herding, Hunting, Play, and Psychical characteristic). The meta-analysis has shown low general heritability of the categorised behavioural traits analysed. Thus, the commonly used behaviour tests for many breeds, to determine the dog's eligibility for reproducing, traditionally required by many associations, is not supported by the present results of the meta-analysis.

Counting of calling males during territorial or nuptial displays is a method widely used for census of populations of wild vertebrates during the pre-breeding and breeding periods, particularly in relation to census of populations of wild birds. In principle, a similar method could be used for assessing numbers of surviving offspring, by monitoring of begging calls, but is used only rarely. We explored the possibility of assessing post-fledging survival of Tengmalm's Owl young by counting the number of individuals begging for food. This method did not however deliver satisfactory estimates of numbers of surviving fledglings and its accuracy depended on time of night, distance from the natal nestbox, and presence or absence of begging calls. We suggest that this method can be used in Tengmalm's Owls for rough estimates only and our finding could be applicable also for other, generally smaller, owl species whose fledglings exhibit quick dispersion from the nest site after the fledging.

Although allonursing (allowing non-filial offspring to suckle) can be a costly behaviour, it has been reported for many mammals including ungulate species. However, such behaviour is very rare in equids. This is the first report on adoption and allonursing in captive plains zebra (Equus burchellii), recorded in the Dvůr Králové Zoo, Czech Republic. We observed a case of adoption of an orphaned foal by a lactating mare, who then regularly nursed two foals (filial and non-filial). The allonursing mare rejected more suckling attempts, terminated suckling bouts more often, and had a shorter suckling bout duration than other mares. When nursing both foals at the same time, the suckling bout lasted for less time than when nursing a single foal, regardless of whether it was filial or non-filial. The allonursing mare apparently did not discriminate between the filial and non-filial foal.

Equids spend more than half of the day feeding. Lactation is a very demanding form of maternal investment. In an environment such as a zoo, where no grass but several feeding sites are present, conflict between suckling behaviour of the foal and feeding behaviour of the lactating mother should occur. We observed 20 foals of captive plains zebra, Equus burchellii , at the Dvůr Kralove Zoo, Czech Republic, and collected data concerning suckling events during 17 months of observation. First, we examined whether feeding by the mother while nursing affected suckling behaviour. We found that when the mother was feeding, the proportion of suckling bouts she terminated decreased with increasing age of the foal, whereas it did not change when she was not feeding. This result supported the trade-off between suckling and feeding behaviour which has been reported in other ungulates. Second, we examined what affected interruptions of feeding behaviour of the mother during the suckling bout. The proportion of interruptions of feeding by the mother during nursing increased with increasing age of her foal. This coincides with declining time spent nursing. In addition, younger mothers interrupted their feeding behaviour during suckling bouts more often than older ones. Mothers interrupted feeding during the suckling bout more often when they nursed a daughter than when they nursed a son. The results of our study show that feeding while suckling could reduce parent–offspring conflict and improve welfare of captive foals and mares.

Recently, a lack of any significant relationship between suckling bout duration and milk or energy intake has been revealed in several mammal species. However, a short suckling bout duration could be taken as an indicator of shortage of milk and lack of maternal care, and could therefore be used to test the parent–offspring conflict hypothesis. We examined suckling bout duration of 20 plains zebra ( Equus burchellii ) foals, at the Dvůr Kralove Zoo, and collected data on suckling events during 19 months of observation. In total, we recorded 3252 suckling bouts during 831 h of observation. As expected, suckling bout duration decreased with increasing age of the foal. The suckling bouts differed in duration when terminated by the foal, mother or any other adult mare (foal > mother > herdmate). Thus, bouts terminated by the mother should indicate that demands of the foal were not satisfied. The shortest bouts were those terminated by a herdmate; however, herdmates terminated few suckling bouts. Moreover, since the foal was able to resume suckling after interruption, the effect of a herdmate on suckling behaviour was very limited. Finally, we found that suckling bout duration was shorter in pregnant mothers than in non-pregnant ones, suggesting higher mother–offspring conflict when the mother was pregnant. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the importance of the termination of suckling bouts and the mother's pregnancy when interpreting suckling bout duration of equids, which has received little attention in previous studies. Our study showed that environmental condition can affect the suckling behaviour of captive equids.

Behavioral activity of 7-week-old German shepherd puppies was tested and the activities analyzed if they could be used for predicting police efficiency of the individual. In total 206 individuals sired by 42 sires and 44 dams were used. The activities were divided into 10 tasks in which reactions and behavior of pups were scored from 0 to 5 points. All pups were tested separately from other conspecifics. Probability that the puppy will pass the certification was tested by a logistic regression. Of the 206 puppies, 148 passed the certification while 58 failed. Some tested behavioral variables were moderately to highly correlated with one another. Therefore we applied a factor analysis. Three factors were retained accounting for 100% of the shared variance. After inspection of the rotated factor pattern matrix and its confidence intervals, it appeared that variables “Independent movement and interactions with the tester”, “Negotiating obstacles”, “Entering a room”, “Behavior toward a person”, and “Behavior in new environments” loaded on Factor 1 (“Factor for movement”), while variables “Response to distracting stimuli caused by a shovel”, “Response to a distracting noise while left alone in a room”, and “Response to loud distracting stimuli” on Factor 2 (“Factor for responding to noise”) and variables “Retrieval” and “Tug of war” on Factor 3 (“Factor for attitude to predation”). In the final logistic regression model, the probability that the puppy will pass the certification depended on the higher weight at the time of testing ( χ ( 1 ) 2 = 12.00 , P = 0.0005), on the “Factor for attitude to predation” ( χ ( 1 ) 2 = 11.63 , P = 0.0007), on the “Factor for responding to noise”, where the higher the score, the weaker was the response ( χ ( 1 ) 2 = 5.16 , P = 0.0232), and on the “Factor for movement” showing an increasing probability with decreasing score ( χ ( 1 ) 2 = 5.25 , P = 0.0219). The tests in our study seem to be a good base which might enable selection for suitable dogs as early as 7 weeks of age. The puppies having high probability to pass certification in adulthood were heavy individuals willing to chase, catch, and fetch a tennis ball, and follow a rag drawn away from them, while weakly responding to a distracting noise in various situations and showing low activity while negotiating obstacles and moving and interacting with the tester. To conclude, contrary to skeptical assumptions expressed by various authors, the specific puppy tests for police dogs provide a reliable tool for predicting future service ability of a puppy. Differences in methodology are likely to contribute to a lack of consensus among various studies.

Sucking duration in ungulates does not only mean milk transfer, but is also associated with maternal care in general. It seems to be a reflection of offspring demand rather than solely milk transfer rate. Thus, the objective of this study was to discriminate between sucking and allosucking (i.e. sucking non-maternal hind) behaviour in red deer according to the sucking duration. We hypothesized that: (1) calves should suck longer from their mothers than allosuck from non-maternal hinds; (2) sucking duration of calves frequently nursed by a particular non-maternal hind should be longer than that of calves occasionally allonursed; (3) sucking duration should be longer for bouts including one calf than two or more calves sucking simultaneously; (4) male calves should suck and allosuck longer than female calves; and (5) primiparous hinds should nurse and allonurse longer than multiparous hinds. We observed sucking behaviour of 25 hinds and their 38 calves (from birth until the youngest calf reached one month of age) in two seasons. We recorded 1730 sucking bouts, of which 11.62% in the first season and 4.37% in the second season were non-filial. The duration of filial sucking was significantly longer than non-filial sucking. A large individual variance in the incidence of non-filial sucking in both the calves and hinds was found. Therefore, the non-filial hind–calf pairs were categorized in two clusters according to the frequency of nursing non-filial calves for one hind in relationship to all nursing events for this hind by a cluster analysis (PROC CLUSTER, SAS). We used a general linear mixed model, GLMM (PROC MIXED, SAS) to test the influence of hind relationship to the nursed calf (filial, frequently allosucking non-filial, or occasionally allosucking non-filial pair). Sucking duration of occasionally allosucking non-filial calves was only marginally different from that of filial calves. There was no difference between the two groups of non-filial calves. Multiple sucking bouts were shorter than those with one calf. Male calves sucked longer than female calves; however, the greatest difference was recorded between frequently allosucking non-filial pairs of both sexes. Frequently allosucking non-filial males sucked the longest and differently from occasionally allosucking non-filial males. Frequently allosucking non-filial females sucked the shortest and differently from filial calves of both sexes. It is more likely that allosucking seems to be more important for male rather than female calves. Therefore, it is concluded that allosucking calves differ in their sucking behaviour and two types of allosuckers (frequent and occasional) should be taken into account when analyzing allosuckling behaviour.

The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a highly endangered species that inhabits only three political states. Recently, Zschokke and Baur [Zschokke, S., Baur, B., 2002. Inbreeding, outbreeding, infant growth, and size dimorphism in captive Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). Canadian Journal of Zoology 80, 2014–2023] found that the offspring of matings between captive Indian rhinoceros individuals from the Kaziranga and Chitwan populations had high mortality rates. These authors suggested that these two populations are partially genetically incompatible and, thus, they proposed that these would be separated into two subspecies. In this study we compiled data from a captive population with data from Dudhwa National Park (India), where rhinoceroses were successfully reintroduced in 1984. In Dudhwa, the breeding male came from the Kaziranga population and four out of the five breeding females came from the Chitwan population. In spite of these different origins, the Dudhwa population has bred very well. We analyzed, the factors influencing infant mortality of 22 Dudhwa and 181 captive calves. Outbreeding (matings between animals from Kaziranga and Chitwan) did not play any role in infant mortality. From our data, we can conclude that parity, not outbreeding, is responsible for infant mortality in the Indian rhinoceros. Thus, we are unable to agree with Zschokke and Baur’s suggestion that the Chitwan and Kaziranga populations belong to separate subspecies. Rather, we propose that the hybridization of captive animals from Chitwan and Kaziranga, as well as those in the wild, should help save the genetic diversity of this highly endangered species.

Little is known about the thermoregulatory response of the eland, a tropical animal often raised in temperate climate. We compared the surface temperature (Ts) of the eland with that of similarly sized Holstein–Friesian dairy cattle at three different ambient temperatures (Ta) to get better evidence about thermal response. The Ts of all body areas (neck, dewlap, trunk, body forepart, barrel, body hind part, forelimb and rear limb) did not differ at Ta 29.2 °C, but at Ta 12.5 °C all the areas of the eland (except the neck) had lower mean Ts than those areas in cattle. At Ta 0.4 °C, only the eland dewlap had a lower Ts and the eland neck had a higher Ts than that in cattle.

We examined if captive plains zebra ( Equus burchelli ) mares change the timing of weaning according to the sex of the suckling foal and of the new impending foetus. We observed 19 captive plains zebra foals, in three different formations, at the Dvůr Kralove Zoo. The earliest time for weaning of any foal was recorded at the age of only 243 days. The latest suckling that was ever recorded occurred 83 days before the dam's next delivery, when the foal was at the age of 355 days. We found that pregnant mares weaned their foals sooner than the non-pregnant mares. Survival analysis revealed that the sex of the foetus was the most influential factor in determining the weaning age of the current foal. Hence, if the foetus was a male, then weaning occurred sooner than if the dam was carrying a female foetus. This finding is the first of this kind among ungulates. The reproductive state of the mare and the sex of her foetus should be considered when interpreting weaning times of equids.

Maternal rank ‘‘inheritance’’ occurs in cercopithecine primates, spotted hyenas and several ungulates. A recently observed positive relationship between dominance rank of a mother and that of her sub-adult offspring in wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) suggests that maternal rank ‘‘inheritance’’ also occurs in this species. This may be caused by various factors. We have focused on one of them. Presuming that an offspring will ‘‘inherit’’ the dominance rank of its mother, we hypothesized that the mother will support her offspring by directing attacks towards the peers of her offspring. We observed three groups of hinds and calves (hinds/calvesn = 18/7, 18/10 and 28/14, respectively). Observation took place since the 3rd month up to the 11th month of the calves’ age. We recorded 8339 agonistic encounters. The rank of an animal was assessed by its fighting success. The fighting success of the offspring increased with the fighting success of its mother (GLMM, F (1,31) = 29.88, P = 0.0001) and with the offspring’s birth body weight (GLMM, F (1,31) = 22.72, P = 0.0001). Milk hinds (females with a surviving calf) attacked other calves more often than the yeld hinds (females without a calf) did. The aggressiveness of the milk hinds increased with the aggressiveness of the attacked calves (GLMM, F (2,164) = 11.68, P = 0.0001). Although we observed several events when a mother intervened on behalf of her offspring, it seems that mothers affected the rank of their offspring rather indirectly by the offspring’s birth body weight, timing of delivery, etc. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plains zebra live in harems that include one to six adult mares. Between these mares is a strong order of social hierarchy. The social rank of an equid mare is typically correlated with her age. Further, high-ranking captive plains zebra mares produce more surviving offspring than low-ranking mares. The objectives of this study were to, first, examined the factors that influence social rank of captive plains zebra mares, and second, test if high-ranking mares conceive earlier and if they have shorter inter-birth intervals than low-ranking ones. We observed three herds of captive plains zebra (a total of 18 mares) at the Dvůr Kralove Zoo, Czech Republic. During the 831 h of observation, we recorded 1713 aggressive interactions (biting and offensive kicking) between the mares. These data were used to determine, for each mare, the total number of mares that dominated her in each period of social stability. The GLMM model revealed that older mares were dominated by a lower number of mares than the younger mares. We also found that the probability that a mare would conceive declined with the increasing number of dominant mares. Further, we tested the relationship between the number of dominant mares and the inter-birth interval using 29 intervals for 15 mares. These inter-birth intervals were divided into two groups. When a stallion was continuously present in the herd, the intervals lasted from one birth to the next birth (natural intervals). When a herd was without a stallion, the intervals lasted from the release of the stallion into the herd to the birth of foal (stallion-influenced intervals). The analysis revealed that the inter-birth intervals decreased with an increasing number of dominant mares and the natural intervals decreased with an increasing number of offspring successfully reared by a mare. This finding is the first one in equids and contributes to the previous findings that suggest that social status influences reproductive success.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of allosuckling on the growth of calves in a herd of domestic cattle. We determined (i) if allosucking calves achieved a better weight gain than non-allosucking calves ingesting milk surplus to maternal milk supply or if they were compensating for growth and/or nutritional deficiency, and (ii) if the growth and development of the calf is affected by allonursing behaviour of its dam. If a compensatory function of the behaviour was valid, then calves should compensate for a lower birth body mass and/or maternal nutrient insufficiencies (‘maternal sucking rate’, i.e. a low frequency of acceptance of the calf’s sucking attempts by its mother) through allosuckling. Observations were made in a socially stablegroup of 21 lactating cows and their 18 calves (7 males and 11 females) from birth until 203 days of the calf’s life. During 289 h ofobservation 389suckingattemptsand1404suckling boutswererecorded,27%ofsuckingattempts and 19% of suckling bouts being non-filial. All allosucking calves sucked their mothers frequently. Thus, allosuking in calves did not mean a complete failure of maternal care provided to filial calves. The calves that allosucked most frequently tended to grow less intensively (growth gain calculated from birth and weaning weights) and tended to reach a lower weaning weight than calves sucking non-maternal dams with lower frequency (GLM, F(1,17) = 3.23, P = 0.063, F(1,17) = 4.75, P = 0.046, respectively). Growth gain or weaning weight of the filial calves was not affected by allonursing frequency of the mother (P = 0.66, P = 0.66, respectively). A higher incidence of allosucking was predicted in calves with lower birth weight (GEE, x 21Þ ¼ 3:73, P = 0.05), and in calves with lower maternal sucking rate (x 21Þ ¼ 3:99, P = 0.05). Moreover, birth weight and maternal sucking rate influenced allosucking frequency interactively (x 21Þ ¼ 4:45, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the cattle calves that frequently suckednon-maternal damswere most likely compensating for somedeficiency, such as low birth weight and/or insufficient supply of maternal milk. This behaviour did not have a negative effect on the growth of progeny of the allonursing dams. Our results supported the