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Animal Behaviour Chapter Animal behaviour Fig-1 (a) Butterfly on a flower (b) Gorilla at rest (c) A bird making a nest Observe the above figures. You must What do we mean by Animal have observed all these things in your Behaviour? surroundings. While observing them you Animal Behavior is the scientific study might have got questions like these. of the wild and wonderful ways in Why fish do not need to learn how to which animals swim? interact with each How can butterfly get to know about other, with other nectar? living beings, and How ants search their food and give with the information to each other about this? environment. It Who does teach a bird to make a nest? explores how animals relate to In this lesson we will try to understand Fig-2 Weaver bird about why animals behave in a specific way. their physical Is there any pattern in their behaviour? environment as well as to other organisms, What are the factors that affects their and includes topics such as how animals behaviour? find and defend resources, avoid predators, choose mates, reproduce, and care for their young. 94 Animal Behaviour The study of animal behavior begins mates and forming into groups for protection, with understanding how an animal’s etc. physiology and anatomy are integrated with What is going on in the figure? its behavior. Both external and internal Will you consider spinning the web stimuli prompt behaviors external by spider as an instinct behaviour? information (For example threats from Why or why not? other animals, sounds, smells) or weather If your hand touches something hot or and internal information (For Example sharpened are accidentally it automatically hunger, fear). Scientists are drawn to the moves away. This is because of reflex study of animal behavior for varied reasons action. Reflexes are also a type of instinct and the field is extremely broad, ranging behaviour. We do not have to learn this. from research on feeding behavior and Give two examples of reflexes? habitat selection to mating behavior and Imprinting social organizations. You might have observed this type of Different types of Animal situations. Chickens and ducklings are able Behaviour to walk almost immediately after hatching There are several types of behaviours from the egg. Duckling can even swim after in humans and other animals that have been a few days. They recognise their mother described and investigated by researches. because of a behaviour type called The following types have been studied so far imprinting. Instinct Imprinting Conditioning Imitation Instinct Instinctual behaviours are behaviours that need not be learned. They can be complex like making nest by birds, choose Fig-4 Hen with ducklings Ducklings will follow the first moving object they meet after hatching. They become socially attached to this object and treat it as their mother. Imprinting lets young animals recognise their mother from a young age. They can follow her for food Fig-3 A Spider spinning its web and protection. Free distribution by A.P. Government 95 Imprinting is useful if the first moving experiences they had learnt when to object they see really is their mother. But perform which function. They would be ducklings will imprint on people, balls and wrong sometimes. even cardboard boxes if these happen to be Ivan Pavlov (1849 to 1936) was a the first things they see. Russian scientist who has investigated Try to find out more examples of conditioning. He discovered that dogs imprinting from your surrounding. produced extra saliva when they were offered food. This is Do you know? a natural response Konrad Lorenz (1903 to 1989) was to a stimulus - food an Austrian scientist who studied animal makes a dog's mouth behaviour. He discovered that if he reared water. The saliva geese (give local name of this) since produced is needed they hatched; they became imprinted on to start digesting him. They followed him around and food and to make preferred to be near him even when they swallowing food Ivan Pavlov had grown into adult geese. easier. Pavlov noticed that they also did the Conditioning same when the person who fed them came Conditioning is a type of behaviour into the room, even if the person had not involving a response to a stimulus that is brought any food. Pavlov went on to ring a different from the natural one. It is a type bell at the start of feeding time, and of learned behaviour. eventually the dogs produced extra saliva If we take ringing of school bell as an when they heard the bell, before any food example, student shows different types of was brought in. conditioning to a school bell as per the time. When the school bell rings in the morning, students gather for assembly. When school bell rings at the end of break time, the students leave the playground and go to their classrooms. When school bell rings at the last Fig-5 Dog Experiment period students rush to leave their A dog salivating when it hears a bell is classroom. not a natural response. They would not do There is one stimulus of ringing the this without being conditioned to do so. The school bell, but students show different behaviour has been learned. It's called a responses to it. It is only because by their conditioned response. 96 Animal Behaviour Imitation Imitation is a type of behaviour where one animal copies another animal. Humans often imitate each other, often without realising it. When people talk to each other, they may stand or sit in a similar way, and copy each other’s movements. Scientists Fig-6 Electric fences stop grazing animals think that this happens so that the speakers straying feel more at ease with other. Some scientists think that humans are People and animals can be conditioned the only animals that copy each other. Other to avoid certain things. For example, scientists have observed chimpanzees and grazing animals get an unpleasant electric other primates imitating each other. For shock when they touch an electric fence. example, chimpanzees can use sticks to They eventually avoid the fence, even spear juicy grubs to eat. Other chimpanzees when it is turned off. copy this behaviour. In this way they learn Can you recall some other examples new skills. Do you ever heard monkey of conditioning? try to enlist at least five imitate us. Read and discuss about the story of them. 'Monkey and Hat marchant' Fig-7 Behaviour of Chimpanzee Human behaviour Instinct Humans show many of the same types Humans have instincts, but it is of behaviour as other animals. But human possible for us to overcome natural urges behaviour is often more complex because to follow certain behaviour. For example, we are more intelligent and aware of hungry persons might want to start eating ourselves. immediately when they sit down at the dinning table, but they have learned that good manners mean they should wait until Free distribution by A.P. Government 97 everyone is seated and ready to eat. Animals can signal to each other. For Imitation example, they may call to each other to warn of danger. Some scientists are People often imitate each other. This interested in such signals. They record and can help them learn something new and study them to work out what the signals useful, such as new skill in lessons, sport mean. or at work. It can also leads them to show less useful or harmful behaviour. For Tagging example, young people may start smoking, You have studied about bird migration drinking alcohol or taking drugs as a result in the chapter biodiversity and its of copying each other to ‘fit in’. But it is conservation. Like birds some other very dangerous for our health. animals also migrate over large distances Conditioning to find food or nesting sites. Animals can be ‘tagged’ by attaching tracking devices to Conditioning can be used to change the them. Tagging lets scientists follow the behaviour of people. Advertisers are very journeys the animals make. skilled at this. They use pictures of their products which make them look glamorous Lab Activity or exciting, often by using famous actors or sports people. By associating the The work of Lorenz and Pavlov has been product with attractive images the mentioned in the earlier sections. These advertisers are trying to set up a scientists studied animal behaviour under conditioned response to their product. controlled conditions. People will respond positively and buy the You can also study the behaviour of product. cockroach. For this you will need a choice Investigating behaviour box. You can make a choice box by Behaviour can be investigated in the following the given steps- ‘field’ or in the laboratory. It can be Take a box, and divide it into four observed and measured, and experiments chambers with the help of a can be designed to test how it works. cardboard as shown in figure. Human behaviour is affected by many Make tiny holes in any two variables. It can be more difficult to study chambers of one side so that light than the behaviour of other animals. can pass through these holes into Investigations in the field the chambers. Let other two chambers as it is (Dark). Some scientists spend many hours watching and studying the behaviour of Now create humid environment animals. They may be interested in how the with help of moist cotton wool in animals live alone, group into families or one of the lightened and one of the form large groups such as herds. dark chambers. 98 Animal Behaviour So the box has been divided into Cover the box and leave the setup four chambers with different for 15-20 minutes.
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