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Previous studies by Dave Mech and other wildlife professionals indicate that wolves remark old scent stations in their territories about every 2-3 weeks depending on the size of the territory. Other then decomposition over time, the presence of foreign canids and reproductive stimuli, in your opinion what other environmental stimuli incite the remarking of the territory?
What types of behavior [as outlined in Klinghammer's ethogram] have you experienced when wolves encounter strange scents along territory boundaries?
Are there any other ethograms that you would recommend as a source for behavioral comparison beyond the one set forth by Klinghammer and the one compiled by the International Wolf Center in Ely?
Wendi,
These are good questions and I will try to answer them from the perspective of an ethologist. First, I must qualify my range of experience observing wolves in the wild. In the Arctic summer that Dave Mech invited me to join him in observing the Ellesmere Pack, we were not able to observe wolves away from the den and rendezvous sites. Although we recorded urinations by pups and adults, there were no anecdotes that would fit your concept of marking along territorial boundaries. During the two springs that we observed the wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we were also watching at the dens and did not observe urinations that fit the concept of territorial marking.
My observations of elimination behavior were of the North and South Packs at Carlos Avery. My interpretation of scent marking in wolves is influenced by my observations of dogs during daily walks.
Thinking like an ethologist, I would hypothesize the probability of urination on upright objects (scent marking) is about 50% influenced by external stimuli (urine of other animals) and 50% by internal state (digestive cycle, hormones and neurotransmitters).
Other behaviors associated with scent marking include: sniffing, circling, ground-scraping with hind legs. You may be interested in viewing the
ethograms in Packard (2003) in the book edited by Mech & Boitani. Here is a link to the source page where you will find access to the behavior catalogues our collaborative learning community uses.
August 17th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Previous studies by Dave Mech and other wildlife professionals indicate that wolves remark old scent stations in their territories about every 2-3 weeks depending on the size of the territory. Other then decomposition over time, the presence of foreign canids and reproductive stimuli, in your opinion what other environmental stimuli incite the remarking of the territory?
What types of behavior [as outlined in Klinghammer's ethogram] have you experienced when wolves encounter strange scents along territory boundaries?
Are there any other ethograms that you would recommend as a source for behavioral comparison beyond the one set forth by Klinghammer and the one compiled by the International Wolf Center in Ely?
August 17th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Wendi,
These are good questions and I will try to answer them from the perspective of an ethologist. First, I must qualify my range of experience observing wolves in the wild. In the Arctic summer that Dave Mech invited me to join him in observing the Ellesmere Pack, we were not able to observe wolves away from the den and rendezvous sites. Although we recorded urinations by pups and adults, there were no anecdotes that would fit your concept of marking along territorial boundaries. During the two springs that we observed the wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we were also watching at the dens and did not observe urinations that fit the concept of territorial marking.
My observations of elimination behavior were of the North and South Packs at Carlos Avery. My interpretation of scent marking in wolves is influenced by my observations of dogs during daily walks.
Thinking like an ethologist, I would hypothesize the probability of urination on upright objects (scent marking) is about 50% influenced by external stimuli (urine of other animals) and 50% by internal state (digestive cycle, hormones and neurotransmitters).
Other behaviors associated with scent marking include: sniffing, circling, ground-scraping with hind legs. You may be interested in viewing the
ethograms in Packard (2003) in the book edited by Mech & Boitani. Here is a link to the source page where you will find access to the behavior catalogues our collaborative learning community uses.
http://wfsc.tamu.edu/jpackard/scienceinaction/pred_sources4students.pdf
Hope this helps for starters. I am pleased to dialogue with you about these interesting questions.