Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy
The knowledge of how wolves’ movement patterns and habitat selection are affected by habituation to persons after a period of veterinary isolation, treatment and non-agonistic experience with humans is scarce. Unnatural behaviours could be transferred by imitation to members of the pack and to subse...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1a0f96228f0646e68d669919e2d9052b 2023-05-15T15:50:43+02:00 Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy Paolo Viola Pedro Girotti Settimio Adriani Bruno Ronchi Marco Zaccaroni Riccardo Primi 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243495 https://doaj.org/article/1a0f96228f0646e68d669919e2d9052b EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/24/3495 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani12243495 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/1a0f96228f0646e68d669919e2d9052b Animals, Vol 12, Iss 3495, p 3495 (2022) habitat selection home range human habituation movement pattern rescued wolf Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243495 2022-12-30T19:33:04Z The knowledge of how wolves’ movement patterns and habitat selection are affected by habituation to persons after a period of veterinary isolation, treatment and non-agonistic experience with humans is scarce. Unnatural behaviours could be transferred by imitation to members of the pack and to subsequent generations, increasing direct interaction risks. We used GPS data from a rescued radio-collared female wolf after an 11-day rehabilitation to estimate home range, movement patterns, circadian rhythms, and habitat selection, searching for signals of eventual behavioural distortions. In the period 1 August–26 November 2013, 870 valid locations were acquired. The wolf moved within a minimum convex polygon (95%) of 6541.1 ha (79% wooded), avoiding anthropized areas. Nocturnal and diurnal displacements were significantly different ( p < 0.01). Nocturnal displacements were 4409.4 ± 617.5 m during summer and 3684.8 ± 468.1 m during autumn, without differences between seasons. Diurnal movements were significantly higher ( p < 0.01) in the summer (2239.0 ± 329.0 m) than in the autumn (595.9 ± 110.3 m), when the hunting season was running. As for a wild wolf, clear complementarity concerning human activities was recorded and no habituation signals were detected, but this is only a first case study that aims to be a stimulus for further research and a call for widespread data sharing. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Animals 12 24 3495 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
habitat selection home range human habituation movement pattern rescued wolf Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
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habitat selection home range human habituation movement pattern rescued wolf Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Paolo Viola Pedro Girotti Settimio Adriani Bruno Ronchi Marco Zaccaroni Riccardo Primi Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy |
topic_facet |
habitat selection home range human habituation movement pattern rescued wolf Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
The knowledge of how wolves’ movement patterns and habitat selection are affected by habituation to persons after a period of veterinary isolation, treatment and non-agonistic experience with humans is scarce. Unnatural behaviours could be transferred by imitation to members of the pack and to subsequent generations, increasing direct interaction risks. We used GPS data from a rescued radio-collared female wolf after an 11-day rehabilitation to estimate home range, movement patterns, circadian rhythms, and habitat selection, searching for signals of eventual behavioural distortions. In the period 1 August–26 November 2013, 870 valid locations were acquired. The wolf moved within a minimum convex polygon (95%) of 6541.1 ha (79% wooded), avoiding anthropized areas. Nocturnal and diurnal displacements were significantly different ( p < 0.01). Nocturnal displacements were 4409.4 ± 617.5 m during summer and 3684.8 ± 468.1 m during autumn, without differences between seasons. Diurnal movements were significantly higher ( p < 0.01) in the summer (2239.0 ± 329.0 m) than in the autumn (595.9 ± 110.3 m), when the hunting season was running. As for a wild wolf, clear complementarity concerning human activities was recorded and no habituation signals were detected, but this is only a first case study that aims to be a stimulus for further research and a call for widespread data sharing. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Paolo Viola Pedro Girotti Settimio Adriani Bruno Ronchi Marco Zaccaroni Riccardo Primi |
author_facet |
Paolo Viola Pedro Girotti Settimio Adriani Bruno Ronchi Marco Zaccaroni Riccardo Primi |
author_sort |
Paolo Viola |
title |
Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy |
title_short |
Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy |
title_full |
Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy |
title_fullStr |
Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Does the Wolf ( Canis lupus ) Exhibit Human Habituation Behaviours after Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild? A Case Report from Central Italy |
title_sort |
does the wolf ( canis lupus ) exhibit human habituation behaviours after rehabilitation and release into the wild? a case report from central italy |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243495 https://doaj.org/article/1a0f96228f0646e68d669919e2d9052b |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Animals, Vol 12, Iss 3495, p 3495 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/24/3495 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani12243495 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/1a0f96228f0646e68d669919e2d9052b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243495 |
container_title |
Animals |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
3495 |
_version_ |
1766385726872616960 |