Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Does Band Together to Protect Fawns

Considering all we've been talking about -- women and betrayal -- thought it was funny when saw this article this morning....its long but worth it! Go DOES!!!!!!! Women protecting future women!

Does Band Together to Protect Fawns, Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

May 11, 2007 —A small fawn, startled by an approaching coyote, calls out in distress. From valleys as far as 1,640 feet away, vigilant deer mothers — some not even from the fawn's own species — run to the rescue, standing guard and risking their own lives until the predator leaves.

New research on this fearless behavior shows that while all does run to the rescue of their own young, mule deer moms will go to great lengths to save their own young and that of at least one other deer species, the whitetail.

"Mule deer females confront coyotes, and defend fawns and even other adults throughout the year," wrote lead author Susan Lingle, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Lethbridge in Canada.

Lingle and her team observed deer interacting with predators on a large cattle ranch in southern Alberta. At first they noticed that female mule deer cooperated to form nurseries in which they raised their fawns. Juveniles may stray, however, or the females may have to leave the nursery for food, drink or other reasons. If a predator, usually a coyote, approaches, the mother mule deer jump into action.

The deer mothers' single-minded instinct to save juveniles appears to drive the behavior, at least in part. But aside from that, the researchers wondered if other factors also played a role.

The scientists played fawn distress calls to both mule and whitetail deer moms. While the latter only responded to calls made by their own offspring, the mule deer made no such distinctions.

The mule deer females usually identified their young by a combination of scent, sight and sound. Since scent only works at close distances, mothers at a distance from fawns sometimes have to rely on sight or sound alone — which could mean they don't always get it right.

But even an error could work in the animals' favor. The scientists think protecting all fawns, and not just their own, helps the deer maintain a strong, near delay-free fight or flight response.

Their findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Animal Behavior.

The researchers explained that "a female's ability to defend her own offspring hinges on an overriding motivation to respond aggressively as soon as she hears distress calls."

Since fawns only utter these calls "when capture is imminent," a delay of just a few seconds could have fatal consequences.

Another possible explanation could be that the deer simply benefit by banding together in groups regardless of species. More mothers on fawn-guard increases the chances that a coyote will leave all of the young alone.

"The care of young by mammal mothers is probably based on intense emotions," said Nigel Barber, author of the book "Kindness in a Cruel World."

While these feelings are usually directed toward kin, Barber added that there are many examples, aside from deer, of female animals who protect and care for the offspring of others. Birds, bees, and numerous other mammals — including humans — do it too.

2 comments:

Joy! said...

I love this! See, the world is changing and women are the observers of a whole series of different behaviors-behaviors that have been there, but were unnoticed by male biologists. Isn't that cool?!!

Pam said...

It seems that nature always seems to teach us mere human beings how to react in situations: protect the little ones...all the little ones, regardless of family ties. A deer has made an appearance several times on my Shamanic journeys and I've always wondered why. I'm now beginning to believe it was to prepare me to live with 2 to 3 small children in my home for the last 7 months. Thanks, Lauren.