Lecture 4

Question 1

What does wild mean?

Answer 1

have not been previously domesticated

Question 2

What does feral mean?

Answer 2

were domesticated and returned to the wild

Question 3

What are the only true wild horses?

Answer 3

Przewalski Horses

Question 4

True or False wild horses in Alberta are wild?

Answer 4

False they are feral

Question 5

Define the following: Stallion, Mare, Foal, Colt, and Filly

Answer 5

Stallion - Sexually mature male
Mare - Sexually mature female
Foal - Immature young – either gender
Colt - Immature young male
Filly - Immature young female

Question 6

What are Przewalski’s Horses?

Answer 6

Subspecies of wild horse Equus ferus (or Equus przewalski?)

Central Asia - originate from Mongolia

Near extinction, then bred in captivity and reintroduced to a park in Mongolia

Never been domesticated

Question 7

How do Przewalski’s Horses live?

Answer 7

Live in family groupings

One stallion, 1-3 mares, & their offspring

Maintain long term relationships

have one or two preferred social partners (friends)

Domesticated horses live on their own or with a couple other horses

Question 8

Do Przewalski mares form dominance hierarchies inside the herd?

Answer 8

Yes, because this way they know who the leader is and it helps reduce aggression

Domestic horses also do this

Question 9

How long do Przewalski offspring stay with the herd?

Answer 9

Usually 2-3 years

domestic horses leave a lot younger

Question 10

Why do Przewalski family groups sometimes band together?

Answer 10

1) food
2) predators
3) bug bites ( larger groups have reduced bug bites)

Question 11

What circumstances would a Przewalski horse be alone?

Answer 11

only older male stallions are alone

old or wounded stallions (kicked out by a younger stallion)

Males not in family groups form Bachelor groups

Question 12

In Przewalski horses what do stallions do in family groups?

Answer 12

Stallions are the boss and actively protect all members of their band

stallions will actively circle the mare with their new foals

stallions poop to make their territory

stallions are involved in grooming their young

Question 13

At what age do foals start playing and why do they play?

Answer 13

2 weeks of age
they play to learn, social interaction, learn how to fight, strengthen bones/muscle

domestic horses don’t get these interactions because they usually are alone

Question 14

Do Przewalski mares adopt other foals?

Answer 14

No they will reject any foal that is not theirs they know their young by smell, pheromones, sound and sight.

Question 15

Why do 2-3 year old mares leave their family?

Answer 15

Leaves on her own/ picked up my another stallion

Stallion kicks out mare to reduce incest

Question 16

Why do 2-3 year old stallions leave their family?

Answer 16

Leaves on own

Stallion kicks out the young stallion

these stallions usually end up travelling in a bachelor group

Question 17

How many play patterns do Przewalski horses have and what category do they fall in?

Answer 17

26 identified play patterns

Solitary
◼ Manipulative play (1 pattern) - pick up stuff with mouth to learn about their environment
◼ Locomotor play (5 patterns) - Running, kicking, bucking for strength, coordination and increase bone density

Social
◼ Non-contact play (10 patterns) - Running together to learn body language and burn off energy
◼ Contact play (10 patterns) - run into each other to learn how to get along with others and push boundaries

Colts play more than fillies because they have more aggression

Play reduced in adverse weather because when it is cold they are trying to stay cold

Question 18

Is the Przewalski horse favorable or unfavorable on Hale’s list?

Answer 18

they are more favorable because

Group structure: live in family groupings, have a hierarchy, males and females live together
Sexual behaviour: promiscuous mating, males are dominant, posturing
Parent-young interaction: Precocial
Response to Humans: Have a long flight distance but very adaptable for humans
Others: No specialized diet, adaptable to the environment, in the middle for agility

Question 19

Define the following: Hens, Rooster, Chicks, Roosting

Answer 19

Hens - Sexually mature female
Rooster - Sexually mature male
Chicks - Sexually immature young chicken
Roosting - Sitting up in trees

Question 20

What is the current housing system for chickens?

Answer 20

Broiler chickens/ turkeys live in barns with thousands of birds, this prevents them from forming a hierarchy

Question 21

Why are commercial birds white?

Answer 21

Because of consumers

Question 22

What do jungle fowl chickens look like?

Answer 22

Genders are very diverse in sexual dimorphism – males are very colorful, females quite drab

Question 23

How do jungle fowl chickens live?

Answer 23

Harem polygynous species
❑ Flocks of males and females (4-30 birds)
◼ Hierarchy in females
❑ Small male groups
❑ Harem formation - male is dominant, most groups are made of 1 male with females, sometimes there are groups with just males and groups with just females
❑ Interact during mating season
❑ Males court females (ritual) - not in commercial birds thus causing more aggression
❑ Females remain close to dominant males

Question 24

How far does the jungle fowl home range go?

Answer 24

Depending on availability of resources, cover, and roosting sites - can travel 30-50km for food
❑ Red Jungle fowl in San Diego Zoo has home range within 50 m of their roosting site
◼ Feral hens overlap home ranges with males

Question 25

How is the male jungle fowl social interactions?

Answer 25

❑ Dominance hierarchy - usually 1 male per group but may allow a young male live with them, the young male may be able to mate a little bit during times the dominant male is busy
❑ Dominant male
◼ Mating frequency of dominant male?
❑ Unstable dominancy - changes a lot due to fighting

Question 26

How is the female jungle fowl social interactions?

Answer 26

❑ Stable dominant hierarchy
❑ Hierarchy formed by aggression, submission

Question 27

How is the mother and offspring jungle fowl social interactions and sibling interactions?

Answer 27

Interact before the chicks are hatched
Imprinting early after hatch
Recognize each other’s calls

Siblings
❑ Interact during hatching
❑ Hatching synchrony by embryo’s calls
◼ Low-frequency call – slows growth of embryos
◼ Clicking call – accelerates growth of embryos
❑ Recognize own siblings
◼ Mating? will not mate with sibling
❑ Show aggressive pecks at 2wks of age - Play
❑ Dominance hierarchy formed at 6-10 wks of age (males are 1 wk earlier than females)

Question 28

Is the jungle fowl favorable or unfavorable on Hale’s list?

Answer 28

They are more favorable

Group structure: Small social groups, form hierarchy, sometimes males and females live together but can live apart
Sexual behaviour: Promiscuous, males are dominant, posturing, sexual morphology
Parent-young interaction: Precocial
Response to humans: Short flight distance
Others: Omnivorous, adaptable, limited agility