News
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What drives horse success at following human-given cues? New paper out by Océane Liehrmann et al. in Animal Cognition
May 15, 2023Abstract Cues such as the human pointing gesture, gaze or proximity to an object are widely used in behavioural studies to evaluate animals’ abilities to follow human-given cues. Many domestic mammals, such as horses, can follow human cues; however, factors influencing their responses are still unclear. We assessed the performance of 57 horses at a … Read More
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The link between elephant allomothering and personality – Zorimar’s thesis finished
March 28, 2023Congratulations Zorimar for finishing your master thesis with an excellent grade! In her thesis, Zorimar looked into the link between allomothering and personality. Well done Zorimar, and all the best for your upcoming PhD studies. Zorimar Vilella Pacheco (2023): Is there a link between allomothering and personality? Insights from a population of semi-captive Asian elephants … Read More
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Océane Liehrmann et at published their new horse behaviour study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science
August 2, 2022Abstract Despite numerous studies emerging on the human-horse relationship, significant gaps exist in the identification of the horse and handler factors that influence the quality of their relationship. Here, we explore key factors affecting human-animal relationships: the number of regular handlers an animal has, their Length of the relationship with the handler, number of owner … Read More
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New paper out by Carly Lynsdale et al: Investigating associations between nematode infection and three measures of sociality in Asian elephants
June 28, 2022Abstract Frequent social interactions, proximity to conspecifics, and group density are main drivers of infections and parasite trans- missions. However, recent theoretical and empirical studies suggest that the health benefits of sociality and group living can outweigh the costs of infection and help social individuals fight infections or increase their infection-related tolerance level. Here, we … Read More
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We published a new paper in General and Comparative Endocrinology: Sex-specific links between the social landscape and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in semi-captive Asian elephants
February 17, 2022ABSTRACT Although social behaviour is common in group-living mammals, our understanding of its mechanisms in long-lived animals is largely based on studies in human and non-human primates. There are health and fitness benefits associated with strong social ties, including increased life span, reproductive success, and lower disease risk, which are attributed to the proximate effects … Read More