Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:38:58.838Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Flight distance and reaction to fawn handling are greater in high-than in low-ranked pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) females

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

R Ungerfeld ,
JT Morales-Piñeyrúa  and
A Freitas-de-Melo
R Ungerfeld*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Lasplaces 1550, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
JT Morales-Piñeyrúa
Affiliation:
Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Lasplaces 1550, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
A Freitas-de-Melo
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Lasplaces 1550, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: rungerfeld@gmail.com
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The flight distance from humans and the reaction of the mother to human handling of their offspring are measures that can be used to assess the quality of the human-animal relationship which could vary according to animals’ position in a group. The objective was to determine if the flight distance and the mother's reaction to human handling of her fawn during the first 24 h after birth differ according to pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) hinds’ social rank. A complementary aim was to compare the mothers’ reaction to their fawns being handled relative to its sex. Studies were carried out on a semi-captive population. Animals were classed as high- or low-ranking individuals according to agonistic interactions between hinds recorded during autumn (breeding season) while animals received rations. In the first part of the study, the flight distance was determined in high- and low-ranked hinds. In the second, the minimum distance that the mother stayed from her fawn was recorded while the fawn was weighed and sexed during the first 24 h after birth, and the latency period for the dam to return with her fawn was also recorded. High-ranked hinds presented greater flight distance than low-ranked hinds. High-ranked hinds kept a greater distance from their fawns compared to low-ranked hinds and more high-than low-ranked hinds remained at a farther distance. In summary, high-ranked hinds seem to perceive humans as a greater threat, and thus be more fearful of them. The sex of the fawn did not affect the hinds’ reaction to human handling.

Keywords

animal-human relationshipanimal welfarecerviddominancehierarchymaternal behaviour
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , November 2015 , pp. 391 - 397
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Andersen, IL and Bøe, KE 2007 Resting pattern and social interactions in goats: the impact of size and organisation of lying space. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 108: 89–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.10.015CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersson, M, Schaar, J and Wiktorsson, H 1984 Effects of drinking water flow rates and social rank on performance and drinking behaviour of tied-up dairy cows. Livestock Production Science 11:599–610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0301-6226(84)90074-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartos, L, Fricová, B, Bartosová-Víchová, J, Panamá, J, Sustr, P and Smídová, E 2007 Estimation of the probability of fighting in fallow deer (Dama dama) during the rut. Aggresive Behaviour 33: 7–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.20162CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bartošová J, Bartoš L, Kotrba R and Ceacero 2012 Pre-orbital gland opening in farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) during stressful handling. Journal of Animal Science 90: 3200–3206CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beilharz, RG and Mylrea, PJ 1963 Social position and behavior of dairy heifers in yards. Animal Behavior 11: 522–527. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(63)90273-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blache, D and Bickell, SL 2010 Temperament and reproductive biology: emotional reactivity and reproduction in sheep. Revista Brasilera de Zootecnia 39: 401–408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-35982010001300044CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blasco, A 2007 An introduction to Bayesian analysis and MCMC. Bayesian Statistic Course. 4-7 September 2007, Edinburgh, UKGoogle Scholar
Burdick, NC, Randel, RD, Carroll, JA and Galés, TH Jr 2011 Interactions between temperament, stress, and immune function in cattle. International Journal of Zoology 2011: 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/373197CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassinello, J 1996 High-ranking females bias their investment in favour of male calves in captive Ammotragus lervia. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 38: 417–424. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002650050259CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceacero, F, García, AJ, Landete-Castillejos, T, Bartošová, J, Bartoš, L and Gallego, L 2012 Benefits for dominant red deer hinds under a competitive feeding system: Food access behavior, diet and nutrient selection. Plos One 7: e32780. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032780CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CITES Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 2014. http://www.cites.org/esp/app/appen-dices.shtmlGoogle Scholar
Claxon 2011 The potential of the human-animal relationship as an environmental enrichment for the welfare of zoo-housed ani-mals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 133: 1–10CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clutton-Brock, TH, Albon, SD, Gibson, RM and Guinness, FE 1979 The logical stag: adaptive aspects of fighting in red deer (Cervus elaphus). Animal Behavior 27: 211–225. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(79)90141-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clutton-Brock, TH, Albon, SD and Guinness, FE 1981 Parental investment in male and female offspring in poligynous mammals. Nature 289: 487–489. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/289487a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clutton-Brock, TH, Albon, SD and Guinness, FE 1986 Great expectations: dominance, breeding success and offspring sex ratios in red deer. Animal Behavior 34: 460–471. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(86)80115-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clutton-Brock, TH, Guinness, FE and Albon, SD 1982 Red Deer: Behavior and Ecology of Two Sexes, First Edition. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, USAGoogle Scholar
Drews, C 1993 The concept and definition of dominance in ani-mal behavior. Behaviour 125: 283–313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853993X00290CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Everett-Hincks, JM, Lopez-Villalobos, N, Blair, HT and Stafford, KJ 2005 The effect of ewe maternal behavior score on lamb and litter survival. Livestock Production Science 93: 51–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livprodsci.2004.11.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freitas-de-Melo, A, Morales-Piñeyrua, JT and Ungerfeld, R 2013 Agonistic male–female and female–female behavior in pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus). North-Western Journal of Zoology 9: 1–4Google Scholar
Galindo, F, Newberry, RC and Mendl, M 2011 Social conditions. In: Appleby, M, Mench, J, Olsson, A and Hughes, B (eds) Animal Welfare, Second Edition pp 228–245. CAB International: UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
González, S, Álvarez-Valin, F and Maldonado, J 2002 Morphometric differentiation of endangered pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus), with description of new subspecies from Uruguay. Journal of Mammalogy 83: 1127–1140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<1127:MDO-EPD>2.0.CO;22.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grovenburg, TW, Jenks, JA, Jacques, CN, Klaver, RW and Swanson, CC 2009 Aggressive defensive behavior by free-ranging white-tailed deer. Journal of Mammalogy 90: 1218–1223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/08-MAMM-A-360.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, PH 2003 Human-animal interactions in livestock production. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81: 185–198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(02)00280-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, PH, Coleman, GJ, Barnett, JL and Borg, S 2000 Relationships between human-animal interactions and productivity of commercial dairy cows. Journal of Animal Science 78: 2821–2831CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hemsworth, PH, Rice, M, Karlen, MG, Calleja, L, Barnett, JL, Nash, J and Coleman, GJ 2011 Human-animal interactions at abattoirs: relationships between handling and animal stress in sheep and cattle. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135: 24–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.09.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, DJ, Gammell, MP, Carlin, CM and Hayden, TJ 2006 Is difference in body weight, antler length, age or dominance rank related to the number of fights between fallow deer (Dama dama)? Ethology 112: 258–269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01154.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lingle, S, Pellis, SM and Finbarr Wilson, W 2005 Interspecific variation in antipredator behaviour leads to differential vulnerabil-ity of mule deer and white-tailed deer fawns early in life. Journal of Animal Ecology 74: 1140–1149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.01014.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lott, DF and Hart, BL 1979 Applied ethology in a nomadic cat-tle culture. Applied Animal Ethology 5: 309–319. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0304-3762(79)90102-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, FF, Hinch, GN and Adams, DB 1992 The Behavior of Sheep: Biological Principles and Implications for Production, First Edition. CSIRO: AustraliaGoogle Scholar
Miranda-de-la-Lama, GC, Pinal, R, Fuchs, K, Montaldo, HH, Ducoing, A and Galindo, F 2013 Environmental enrichment and social rank affects the fear and stress response to regular handling of dairy goats. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 8: 342–348. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2013.03.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morales-Piñeyrúa, JT 2014 Rango social y resultados reproductivos en hembras de venado de campo (Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Linnaeus 1758). MSc Thesis, Universidad de la República, Uruguay. [Title translation: Social status and reproductive outcomes in female deer field]Google Scholar
Morales-Piñeyrúa, JT, Ciappesoni, G and Ungerfeld, R 2014 Social rank and reproductive performance of pampas deer females (Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Linnaeus 1758). Behavioural Processes 105:49–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2014.03.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O’Connor, CE, Jay, NP, Nicol, AM and Beatson, PR 1985 Ewe maternal behaviour score and lamb survival. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 45: 159–162Google Scholar
Olazábal, DE, Villagrán, M, González-Pensado, SX and Ungerfeld, R 2013 Maternal behavior and early development of pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) fawns in a semi-captive envi-ronment. Journal of Ethology 31: 323–330. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10164-013-0383-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, EO 1984 Behavioral aspects of animal domestication. Quarterly Review of Biology 59: 1–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/413673CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, EO 1999 Behavioral development in animals undergoing domestication. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 65: 245–271. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(99)00087-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, EO and Wallach, SJR 1990 Physical isolation of hand-reared Hereford bulls increases their aggressiveness toward humans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 27: 263–267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591(90)90061-HCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajagopal, T, Archunan, G and Sekar, M 2011 Impact of zoo visitors on the fecal cortisol levels and behavior of an endangered species: Indian Blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra L). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 14: 18–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2011.527598CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sekar, M, Rajagopal, T and Archunan, G 2008 Influence of zoo visitor presence on the behavior of captive Indian Gaur (Bos gau-rus gaurus) in a zoological park. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 11: 352–357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888700802330093CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherwin, CM and Johnson, KG 1987 The influence of social fac-tors on the use of shade by sheep. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 18: 143–155. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591(87)90188-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, WP 1987 Maternal defense in Columbian white tailed deer: when is it worth? American Naturalist 130: 310–316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/284712CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ungerfeld, R and Freitas-de-Melo, A 2014 Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) male-female agonistic behavior toward high and low social ranked females. Acta Ethologica 17: 167–171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10211-013-0178-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ungerfeld, R, González-Pensado, S, Villagrán, M, Bielli, A, Rossini, C, Morales-Piñeyrúa, JT, Pérez, W and Damián, JP 2011 Biología reproductiva del venado de campo (Ozotoceros bezo-articus). Universidad de la República, Unidad de Comunicación, Montevideo, Uruguay. [Title translation: Reproductive biology deer field, pampas deer]Google Scholar
Ungerfeld, R, González-Sierra, UT and Piaggio, J 2008a Reproduction in a semi-captive herd of pampas deer Ozotoceros bezo-articus. Wildlife Biology 14: 350–357. http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/0909-6396(2008)14[350:RIASHO]2.0.CO;2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ungerfeld, R, González-Pensado, SX, Bielli, A, Villagrán, M, Olazabal, D and Pérez, W 2008b Reproductive biology of the pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus): A review. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 50: 16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-50-16CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turbill, C, Ruf, T, Rothmann, A and Arnold, W 2013 Social dominance is associated with individual differences in heart rate and energetic response to food restriction in female red deer. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 86: 528–537. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/672372CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Villagrán, M, De-la-Fuente, L and Ungerfeld, R 2012 Pampas deer fawns (Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Linnaeus, 1758) feeding time budget during the first twelve weeks of life. North Western Journal of Zoology 8: 85–91Google Scholar
Waiblinger, S, Boivin, X, Pedersen, V, Tosi, MV, Janczak, AM, Visser, EK and Jones, RB 2006 Assessing the human-ani-mal relationship in farmed species: a critical review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 101: 185–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appla-nim.2006.02.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willisch, CS and Neuhaus, P 2010 Social dominance and con-flict reduction in rutting male Alpine ibex, Capra ibex. Behavioral Ecology 21: 372–380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arp200CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, AJ, Morrissey, MB, Adams, MJ, Walling, CA, Guinness, FE, Pemberton, JM, Clutton-Brock, TH and Kruuk, LEB 2011 Indirect genetics effects and evolutionary con-straint: An analysis of social dominance in red deer, Cervus elaphus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24: 772–783. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02212.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yunes, MC 2001 Efeito da hierarquia social na produção, reprodução e na interação humano-animal de vacas leiteiras. Masters Thesis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil. [Title translation: Effect of social hierarchy on production, reproduction and human-animal interaction in dairy cattle]Google Scholar