| Maternal behavior is a kind of instinctive behavior;it is one of the basic behaviors of animals.Maternal behavior plays an important role in improving the survival rate of cubs,and the stability of populations.The study of behavioral development of Amur tiger(Panthera tigris altaica)cubs has important implications for the influence on adult behavioral patterns.At present,due to the small number of wild Amur tigers and their elusive behaviors,there are few studies on the interaction behavior of Amur tiger mothers and cubs.In order to make up for this gap,this study observed the interaction relationship between mother and cubs of Amur tiger in Heilongjiang Amur Tiger Park,Harbin and Hengdaohezi Amur Tiger Park,Mudanjiang,China.In this study,the developmental changes of the behavior of cubs and mothers,the correlation between the behavior of cubs and mothers,and the influence of the behavior of cubs on the parenting behavior of mothers were explored.The analysis results showed that:(1)With the development of the cubs,the mother tiger's nurturing behaviors gradually decreased,and the cub's sucking,milking,sleeping and other behaviors also declined,and their playing behaviors increased.When there were four cubs,the cubs had a clear preference for the position of the nipples,but when the number of cubs was reduced,the cubs used the nipples more evenly.(2)The licking and cub-grabbing behaviors of the mother tigers were positively correlated with the weight of the cubs.The licking behaviors of the mother tigers were positively correlated with the cub-grabbing behaviors,suckling behaviors,and milk competition.The mother tiger that gave birth to 4 cubs had significant differences in the occurrence and non-occurrence of cub-licking and cub-grabbing behaviors.However,there was no significant difference between the occurrence and non-occurrence of these two behaviors in the female tiger that gave birth to 3 cubs.(3)There was a significant difference between the occurrence and non-occurrence of various behaviors by cub tigers.The sleeping and playing behaviors of the cubs had a significant impact on the mother tiger's cub licking behavior.As the sleeping and playing behaviors increased,the mother tiger's cub licking behavior decreased.As the cub sucking,sleeping next to the female tiger,and playing behaviors increased,the female tiger's cub-grabbing behavior also decreased significantly.This study can provide a reference for the breeding and management of the Amur tiger in captivity.The breeding and management methods can be adjusted according to the development of the relationship between the mother and cub of the Amur tiger and the changes in the behavioral development of the cubs obtained in this study.It can also play a certain reference role for the research on the cub raising behavior of the wild Amur tiger. |
PDF Full Text Request