The Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is a gregarious carnivore known for its strictly structured hierarchical rank relationships. At the zoo of Borås a clan, consisting out of two Spotted hyenas, are participating in an ex-situ program. In order to successfully enact conservational work, within zoos, sustainable management of zoo populations is of importance, and the behavioral aspect is vital in enabling welfare. In this study, I observed social interactions and activity in the Spotted hyenas at the zoo of Borås, for ten continuous days. The study aimed to investigate the dominance relationship and daily activity of the individuals. Furthermore, if this correlates with concentrations of testosterone. I performed two different observational studies, one focusing on social and agonistic behaviors, and the other on general behaviors. A third method, blood sampling, was intended to be performed but due to non-optimal conditions it was not executed. The results implied that the two individuals were highly nocturnal, with activity peaks to be observed during the first half of the night and at dawn. The individuals spent the majority of the time, 60.6%, resting which signifies that they are active during shorter periods. They were highly social with each other, but force measurements and aggressive displays did occur, mainly during the night. Sansa was the one taking initiative in conflicts, which suggests attempts in dominating Arya. Further, this indicates that the activity and dynamic of the individuals resembles that of a wild population, along with corresponding with previously performed studies and behavioral descriptions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-205066 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Stade, Isabelle |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för fysik, kemi och biologi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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