Animal  Behaviour  Assignment    

Abhishek  Mishra  (20101053)  Himanshu  Rajmane  (20101017)  

Nisarg  Desai  (20101030)  Shailendra  Kushwaha  (20101049)  

 Animal of choice: Street Dogs (Canis familiaris) Methods: We carried out the observations on Street Dogs (Canis familiaris) living in IISER campus around New Hostel 1, New Hostel 2, Lab Buildings and HR-4. We carried out observations on 13 dogs: 2 adult males, 2 juvenile males, 2 sub-adult males, 1 sub-adult female, 4 adult females, and 2 juvenile females. To get started, we conducted ad libitum sampling of the dogs in campus for 8 days. Based on our observations we fixed the following time slots for focal sampling considering the activity level of the dogs and our convenience. Each individual was observed for at least 15 minutes.

• Evenings: 5:30 PM-6:30 PM • Nights 11:30 PM-12:30 AM

Data for such focal observations was recorded for 7 days. Our observations were completely non-invasive. Results:

(a) Ethogram  

Category of Behavior

Behavior Code Description

Solitary Yawning   Y   Opening  the  mouth  widely  for  a  short  period  of  time,  and  after  inhaling,  closing  it  

    Sleeping   Slp   Lying  down  on  any  one  side  of  the  body  with  eyes  closed.  The  head  is  also  on  the  ground  with  the  limbs  on  one  side  

  Sitting  1   Si  1   Sitting  with  all  four  limbs  bent  

  Sitting  2   Si  2   Sitting  on  the  hind  limbs  with  an  uptight  posture.  The  forelimbs  are  straight  

    Resting   Re   Sitting  1  but  with  the  head  on  ground,  lower  throat  touching  the  ground.  Eyes  may  or  may  not  be  closed  

  Standing   Std   Maintaining  an  uptight  position  supported  by  the  four  limbs  

  Panting   Pt   Breathing  with  mouth  open  and  tongue  sticking  out  

  Urinating   U   Discharging  urine.  Males  with  one  hind  limb  lifted,  and  females  in  a  posture  with  hind  limbs  bent  and  forelimbs  straight  

  Defecating   D   Discharging  feces  with  hind  limbs  bent  and  forelimbs  straight  

  Walking   W   Moving  from  one  place  to  another  using  the  limbs,  at  a  speed  slower  than  running  

  Running   R   Using  all  four  limbs,  moving  at  a  speed  faster  than  walking  

  Stretching   Str   Stretching  the  forelimbs,  the  posterior  of  the  body  is  at  a  higher  level  than  the  head  

  Biting   B   Using  the  teeth  to  grip  something  

  Licking   L   Passing  the  tongue  repeatedly  over  something  

  Rolling   Rol   Lying  on  the  back  and  moving  horizontally  left  and  right  with  respect  to  body  axis  

  Hopping   H   Jumping  (forelimbs  in  the  air,  hind  limbs  on  the  ground  -­‐-­‐>  forelimbs  on  the  ground,  hind  limbs  in  the  air)    

  Following   F   Walking/running  behind  conspecifics  or  humans  

    Scratching   Scr   Using  the  paw  nails  to  make  scraping  movement  

Vocalizations Barking   Brk   Characteristic  sound  repeatedly  produced  in  succession    

  Growling   Gr   Deep  rumbling  sound  

Foraging and Feeding

Sniffing   Snf   Moving  the  snout  close  to  an  object  and  smelling  

  Eating   Eat   Consuming  food  by  chewing  and  gulping  

    Drinking   Drk   Consuming  water/liquid,  repeatedly  using  tongue  

Social Playing   P   Interacting  with  conspecifics  which  might  involve  combinations  of  biting,  scratching,  licking,  rolling,  hopping,  following,  growling,  barking  and  tail  wagging  

    Tail  wagging  

Tw   Repeatedly  moving  the  tail  horizontally  to  left  and  right  

    Fighting   Fi   Aggressive  conflict  involving  physical  contact  through  biting,  scratching  and  growling  

   The above ethogram is based on ad libitum as well as focal sampling. A sample data sheet for one individual for one time point is as follows. For the purposes of this report, we do not include the datasheets for all individuals. Observer   Himanshu  Date:   20/03/14  

 Time:   11.30  PM    Name  of  

Individual   Amma    Sex   Female    

Description  Adult  female,  white  in  colour  with  brown  patches  on  belly,  abdomen  and  face.    

     Time   Behaviour   Remarks  11:30  PM   Si  1   Right  11:33  PM   B   Right  Back  11:33  PM   Scr   Bottom,  using  left  hind  leg  11:34  PM   W  

 11:35  PM   Scr   Bottom,  using  both  hind  legs  11:36  PM   Scr   Face,  using  left  hind  leg  11:37  PM   Snf   Garbage  11:39  PM   Eat  

 11:42  PM   Scr   Bottom,  using  left  hind  leg  11:43  PM   B   Hind  leg  from  the  left  side  11:44  PM   W   Slowly,  pausing  11:46  PM   Si  1   Left  11:47  PM   Scr   Body,  using  right  hind  leg  11:47  PM   Si  2  

 

11:48  PM   P   With  NaMo  (juvenile  female)  11:49  PM   Si  1   Right  11:50  PM   Scr   Bottom  using  left  hind  leg  

 

(b) Time budget analysis Based on all the data obtained from focal sampling, we did a time-budget analysis for each individual dog separately and for all the dogs. The time-budget analysis for each individual is not included in this report. The combined time-budget analysis for all the dogs is presented below:

8%  10%  

4%  

4%  

0%  7%  

9%  

4%  

6%  11%  

2%  

22%  

4%  3%  

4%  

3%   2%  

Combined  time  budget  analysis  (all  dogs)  EVENINGS  

B  

Scr  

R  

F  

H  

Snf  

Si  1  

Si  2  

P  

Slp  

Brk  

W  

Re  

Eat  

L  

Str  

Y  

5%  10%   4%  

5%  1%  

5%  

5%  

4%  7%  17%  

5%  

18%  

3%   5%  

0%  2%  

4%  

Combined  time  budget  analysis  (all  dogs)  NIGHTS  

B  

Scr  

R  

F  

H  

Snf  

Si  1  

Si  2  

P  

Slp  

Brk  

W  

Re  

Eat  

L  

Str  

Y  

Hypothesis and Experiments: Our initial aim was to study barking behavior, but our observations indicate that very little time was spent on barking in natural conditions (4% in all). Therefore, it is difficult to study this behavior. However, we observed another interesting behavior with regard to social play. We observed juveniles from different mothers and opposite sex engage themselves in social play. Based on this observation, we propose the following hypotheses that may explain this behavior:

6%  10%  

4%  

4%  0%  

6%  

7%  

4%  

7%  14%  

4%  

20%  

3%  4%  

2%   2%  

3%  

Combined  time  budget  analysis  (all  dogs)  EVENINGS  +  NIGHTS  

B  

Scr  

R  

F  

H  

Snf  

Si  1  

Si  2  

P  

Slp  

Brk  

W  

Re  

Eat  

L  

Str  

Y  

Hypothesis 1: Juveniles of similar age group engage in social play. Hypothesis 2: Juveniles living in adjacent territories are more likely to engage in social play. Hypothesis 3: Juveniles from same father are more likely engage in social play. Hypothesis 4: Social play between opposite sex juveniles could be a premature form of sexual attraction. Hypotheses 1 and 2 are proximate, 3 and 4 are ultimate. The following experiments/observations can be carried out to test the above hypotheses. Hypothesis 1: (a) More observations can be carried out under different situations and the above hypothesis can be tested statistically. (b) As a manipulative experiment, individuals of different ages can be brought together, and statistical analysis for individuals engaging in social play can be carried out. Hypothesis 2: (a) More observations can be carried out under different situations and the above hypothesis can be tested statistically. (b) As a manipulative experiment, individuals from different territories can be brought together, and statistical analysis for individuals engaging in social play can be carried out. Hypothesis 3: Genetic analysis can be performed to trace the fathers of individuals engaging in social play. Hypothesis 4: It can be checked if opposite sex individuals engaging in social play are more likely to mate in future. Also, within sex and between sex social play incidences can be statistically compared i.e. if a male juvenile is more likely to engage in social play with a female juvenile and vice versa.