TY - JOUR
T1 - Ambivalent signals during agonistic interactions in a captive wolf pack
AU - Fatjó, Jaume
AU - Feddersen-Petersen, Dorit
AU - Ruiz de la Torre, José Luís
AU - Amat, Marta
AU - Mets, Monique
AU - Braus, Barbara
AU - Manteca, Xavier
PY - 2007/7/1
Y1 - 2007/7/1
N2 - A study was designed to quantify ambivalent behaviour during social aggressive interactions in wolves. Agonistic interactions in a group of six European captive wolves, consisting of three males and three females, were analyzed for bared teeth, body posture and the position of ears, tongue, lips, legs and tail. The behavioural elements in each of these categories were assumed to be neutral or to signal dominance or submission. Wolves were considered to show ambivalence when dominant and submissive signs were observed simultaneously. More than 200 aggressive interactions were videotaped and parts of them were analyzed frame by frame. Results indicated that male wolves showed high levels of ambivalence (48%) and that this behavioural trait is not linked to a particular social status. Regarding specific body signals, tail position was the most reliable indicator of status, whereas bared teeth was not linked to a particular position in a dominance relationship. The possible application of these results to understanding aggression problems in dogs is briefly discussed. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
AB - A study was designed to quantify ambivalent behaviour during social aggressive interactions in wolves. Agonistic interactions in a group of six European captive wolves, consisting of three males and three females, were analyzed for bared teeth, body posture and the position of ears, tongue, lips, legs and tail. The behavioural elements in each of these categories were assumed to be neutral or to signal dominance or submission. Wolves were considered to show ambivalence when dominant and submissive signs were observed simultaneously. More than 200 aggressive interactions were videotaped and parts of them were analyzed frame by frame. Results indicated that male wolves showed high levels of ambivalence (48%) and that this behavioural trait is not linked to a particular social status. Regarding specific body signals, tail position was the most reliable indicator of status, whereas bared teeth was not linked to a particular position in a dominance relationship. The possible application of these results to understanding aggression problems in dogs is briefly discussed. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW - Aggression
KW - Ambivalence
KW - Communication
KW - Conflict
KW - Hierarchy
KW - Wolf
U2 - 10.1016/j.applanim.2006.11.009
DO - 10.1016/j.applanim.2006.11.009
M3 - Article
SN - 0168-1591
VL - 105
SP - 274
EP - 283
JO - Applied Animal Behaviour Science
JF - Applied Animal Behaviour Science
ER -