Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care
Abstract Belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas ) engage in many forms of play (e.g., object, water, locomotor), but no play is quite as curious as the unusual form of cooperative social play involving mouth‐to‐mouth interactions. These playful interactions are characterized by two belugas approaching each...
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crwiley:10.1002/zoo.21788 2024-09-15T17:59:04+00:00 Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care Ham, Jackson R. Lilley, Malin K. Wincheski, Riley J. Miranda, Jesus Velarde Dediós, Ángel G. Kolodziej, Katie Pellis, Sergio M. Manitzas Hill, Heather M. 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21788 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/zoo.21788 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Zoo Biology volume 42, issue 6, page 730-743 ISSN 0733-3188 1098-2361 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21788 2024-08-30T04:12:40Z Abstract Belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas ) engage in many forms of play (e.g., object, water, locomotor), but no play is quite as curious as the unusual form of cooperative social play involving mouth‐to‐mouth interactions. These playful interactions are characterized by two belugas approaching each other head‐to‐head and interlocking their jaws, clasping one another, as if they were shaking hands. Observed in belugas both in the wild and in managed care, it is seemingly an important type of social play that offers a unique way of socializing with conspecifics. To describe this unusual behavior, a group of belugas in managed care was observed from 2007 to 2019. Although adults participated in mouth‐to‐mouth interactions, most were initiated and received by young belugas. Both males and females engaged in mouth‐to‐mouth interactions and did so at similar frequencies. Individual differences in how many mouth‐to‐mouth interactions were initiated among calves were also observed. Due to the unique, cooperative nature of mouth‐to‐mouth interactions, which require both social and motor skills, it is hypothesized that these interactions may be used to test social and motor competency. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Wiley Online Library Zoo Biology 42 6 730 743 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
Abstract Belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas ) engage in many forms of play (e.g., object, water, locomotor), but no play is quite as curious as the unusual form of cooperative social play involving mouth‐to‐mouth interactions. These playful interactions are characterized by two belugas approaching each other head‐to‐head and interlocking their jaws, clasping one another, as if they were shaking hands. Observed in belugas both in the wild and in managed care, it is seemingly an important type of social play that offers a unique way of socializing with conspecifics. To describe this unusual behavior, a group of belugas in managed care was observed from 2007 to 2019. Although adults participated in mouth‐to‐mouth interactions, most were initiated and received by young belugas. Both males and females engaged in mouth‐to‐mouth interactions and did so at similar frequencies. Individual differences in how many mouth‐to‐mouth interactions were initiated among calves were also observed. Due to the unique, cooperative nature of mouth‐to‐mouth interactions, which require both social and motor skills, it is hypothesized that these interactions may be used to test social and motor competency. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ham, Jackson R. Lilley, Malin K. Wincheski, Riley J. Miranda, Jesus Velarde Dediós, Ángel G. Kolodziej, Katie Pellis, Sergio M. Manitzas Hill, Heather M. |
spellingShingle |
Ham, Jackson R. Lilley, Malin K. Wincheski, Riley J. Miranda, Jesus Velarde Dediós, Ángel G. Kolodziej, Katie Pellis, Sergio M. Manitzas Hill, Heather M. Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
author_facet |
Ham, Jackson R. Lilley, Malin K. Wincheski, Riley J. Miranda, Jesus Velarde Dediós, Ángel G. Kolodziej, Katie Pellis, Sergio M. Manitzas Hill, Heather M. |
author_sort |
Ham, Jackson R. |
title |
Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
title_short |
Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
title_full |
Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
title_fullStr |
Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
title_full_unstemmed |
Playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
title_sort |
playful mouth‐to‐mouth interactions of belugas ( delphinapterus leucas) in managed care |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21788 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/zoo.21788 |
genre |
Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas |
genre_facet |
Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas |
op_source |
Zoo Biology volume 42, issue 6, page 730-743 ISSN 0733-3188 1098-2361 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21788 |
container_title |
Zoo Biology |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
730 |
op_container_end_page |
743 |
_version_ |
1810436015680126976 |