Seasonal Differences in Territorial Behavior by Golden Jackals in Bangladesh: Howling versus Confrontation

Responses of golden jackals (Canis aureus) to broadcasted howling were investigated in rural Bangladesh. Two hypotheses were tested: that the howl response shows the same annual trends reported for other Canis, being high during the season of pairing-mating when territories are being established, an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mammalogy 1996-08, Vol.77 (3), p.768-775
Main Authors: Jaeger, Michael M., Pandit, Rajat K., Haque, Emdadul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural seasons
Agriculture
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
Breeding seasons
Canis aureus
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Jackals
Mammalia
Mammalogy
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Spring
Sugar cane
Territories
Vertebrata
Winter
Wolves
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Summary:Responses of golden jackals (Canis aureus) to broadcasted howling were investigated in rural Bangladesh. Two hypotheses were tested: that the howl response shows the same annual trends reported for other Canis, being high during the season of pairing-mating when territories are being established, and low during the denning season when there is a risk to vulnerable young from advertising the location of their den to rival conspecifics; that the frequency of approach responses (confrontation) varies inversely with howl responses and is higher during denning when howling is low. Results support both hypotheses and are consistent with the primary function of howling being as a passive means of territory maintenance whereby dominant animals advertise their locations to facilitate mutual avoidance between groups and thereby reduce accidental confrontation.
ISSN:0022-2372
1545-1542
DOI:10.2307/1382682