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The behaviour of Przewalski horses (Equus przewalskii) during formation of bachelor groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

I. G. Draganova  and
J. Gurnell
I. G. Draganova*
Affiliation:
Hartpury College, University of West of England, Hartpury, GL19 3BE, U.K.
J. Gurnell
Affiliation:
Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, U.K.
*
E-mail: ina.draganova@hartpury.ac.uk
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Extract

Captive Przewalski horses are generally kept as harem bands consisting of several females with their offspring and one stallion (Tilson et al., 1988). These husbandry procedures together with an approximately equal sex ratio at birth, led to an abundance of surplus males (Boyd and Houpt, 1994). In 1986 the European Breeding Programme recommended the establishment of bachelor groups to manage the surplus males in a cost-effective way (Kolter and Zimmermann, 2001). There have been reports of severe and sometimes fatal aggression between stallions during or immediately after their introduction to established bachelor groups (Kolter and Zimmermann, 2001). The main objectives of this study were to investigate the changes in behaviour during and immediately after introduction of Przewalski horses to bachelor groups, taking into account the effects of other factors such as age. The results are discussed in relation to enclosure type, animal husbandry and the social behaviour of equids.

Type
Poster Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2004 , 2004 , pp. 141
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2004

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References

Boyd, L. and Houpt., K. A. 1994. Przewalski’s Horse – The history and biology of an endangered species. SUNY Press.Google Scholar
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