Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs
It has been argued that domestication explains the ability of domestic animals to use human cues, but similar abilities exist in wild animals repeatedly exposed to humans. Little is known on the importance of the developmental stage of this exposure for developing such abilities. Orphancy and subseq...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Alessandro Gallo Anne Schmidt-Küntzel Lea Petersen M. Justin Moya Laurie Marker Alban Lemasson Martine Hausberger |
| author_facet | Alessandro Gallo Anne Schmidt-Küntzel Lea Petersen M. Justin Moya Laurie Marker Alban Lemasson Martine Hausberger |
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| description | It has been argued that domestication explains the ability of domestic animals to use human cues, but similar abilities exist in wild animals repeatedly exposed to humans. Little is known on the importance of the developmental stage of this exposure for developing such abilities. Orphancy and subsequent hand-rearing constitute a quasi-experimental situation for investigating this question. Cheetahs (<i>Acinonyx jubatus</i>) are interesting as they present a two-step development, spending their first two months of life in a den with occasional visits from the mother, and then accompanying their mother outdoors. Mother loss may occur at any of these stages, and the orphaned cheetahs are then taken under human care. We tested the importance of the stage of development on their long-term perception of humans by comparing the reactions of adult wild-born cheetahs, orphaned at “den-age” (Early-Orphaned, 0–2 months) or at a later stage (Late-Orphaned, 2–6 months), to motionless humans (familiar vs. unfamiliar). The results showed that Early-Orphaned, but not Late-Orphaned cheetahs, produced affiliative calls (purrs) towards humans and discriminated familiar and unfamiliar humans. Taken together, these results suggest that the timing in which an emotional bond is created with the primary caregiver (humans in the case of Early-Orphaned cheetahs and the mother in the case of Late-Orphaned cheetahs) is crucial in determining the reaction towards the species of the early caregiver throughout life. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
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| spelling | doaj-art-1831a65a7ee64ce28012a1b733f32fc42024-11-26T17:45:47ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-11-011422322310.3390/ani14223223Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive CheetahsAlessandro Gallo0Anne Schmidt-Küntzel1Lea Petersen2M. Justin Moya3Laurie Marker4Alban Lemasson5Martine Hausberger6Université de Caen-Normandie Laboratoire d’Ethologie Animale et Humaine, EthoS, UMR 6552 CNRS, Université de Rennes, 35000 Rennes, FranceCheetah Conservation Fund, Otjiwarongo P.O. Box 1755, NamibiaCheetah Conservation Fund, Otjiwarongo P.O. Box 1755, NamibiaCheetah Conservation Fund, Otjiwarongo P.O. Box 1755, NamibiaCheetah Conservation Fund, Otjiwarongo P.O. Box 1755, NamibiaUniversité de Caen-Normandie Laboratoire d’Ethologie Animale et Humaine, EthoS, UMR 6552 CNRS, Université de Rennes, 35000 Rennes, FranceCNRS, Integrative Center for Neuroscience and Cognition, INCC, UMR 8002, Université de Paris Cité, 75006 Paris, FranceIt has been argued that domestication explains the ability of domestic animals to use human cues, but similar abilities exist in wild animals repeatedly exposed to humans. Little is known on the importance of the developmental stage of this exposure for developing such abilities. Orphancy and subsequent hand-rearing constitute a quasi-experimental situation for investigating this question. Cheetahs (<i>Acinonyx jubatus</i>) are interesting as they present a two-step development, spending their first two months of life in a den with occasional visits from the mother, and then accompanying their mother outdoors. Mother loss may occur at any of these stages, and the orphaned cheetahs are then taken under human care. We tested the importance of the stage of development on their long-term perception of humans by comparing the reactions of adult wild-born cheetahs, orphaned at “den-age” (Early-Orphaned, 0–2 months) or at a later stage (Late-Orphaned, 2–6 months), to motionless humans (familiar vs. unfamiliar). The results showed that Early-Orphaned, but not Late-Orphaned cheetahs, produced affiliative calls (purrs) towards humans and discriminated familiar and unfamiliar humans. Taken together, these results suggest that the timing in which an emotional bond is created with the primary caregiver (humans in the case of Early-Orphaned cheetahs and the mother in the case of Late-Orphaned cheetahs) is crucial in determining the reaction towards the species of the early caregiver throughout life.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/22/3223<i>Acinonyx jubatus</i>hand rearinghuman–animal interactionsmaternal lossspecies-specific representation |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Gallo Anne Schmidt-Küntzel Lea Petersen M. Justin Moya Laurie Marker Alban Lemasson Martine Hausberger Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs Animals <i>Acinonyx jubatus</i> hand rearing human–animal interactions maternal loss species-specific representation |
| title | Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs |
| title_full | Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs |
| title_fullStr | Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs |
| title_short | Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs |
| title_sort | agenda of early life experience and its association with sensitivity to human presence and familiarity in wild born orphaned captive cheetahs |
| topic | <i>Acinonyx jubatus</i> hand rearing human–animal interactions maternal loss species-specific representation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/22/3223 |
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