The Rabbits Present Themselves: Rabbit Language and Communication

Rabbits are prey animals with instincts that influence both behaviour and body language. Loud, vocal noises or too many vibrant movements would just attract unwanted company from predators, forcing rabbits to develop other more subtle forms of communication in order to survive.

The wild rabbits main form of communication is through scent, leaving markings of urine or droppings. Living in underground colonies, they can be quite territorial, marking their living space in order to communicate position in the area to other rabbits. The domestic rabbits exhibit the same sort of behaviour as their predecessors, leaving markings and droppings in their living space.⁽¹⁾ They also have scent glands under their chins, and are often observed rubbing their chin on different objects around the house, as to make them as their belongings, as process that is referred to as chinning. ⁽²⁾

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For safety reasons, rabbits seldom communicate using noise. However, this does not mean that they are not capable of vocalising. Grinding of the teeth is for instance known as a sign of satisfaction. If they are irritated or discontent with the situation, rabbits can give out grunting like noises as a warning before an attack or bite. Thumping its hind legs on the ground may occur when a rabbit is startled or nervous, and is often used as a signal to warn other rabbits of danger. Rabbits that experience severe stress or pain are known to give out a loud, desperate scream.⁽³⁾

Although subtle, rabbits also communicate through body language, which in many ways is one of the only ways for humans to pick up on a rabbits signals, as we don’t have the ability to sniff out messages of scent. As mentioned earlier, a rabbits body language is often muted, as it is restricted by instincts of survival, actually making rabbits somewhat unsuitable as pets, especially for children, as they are easy to misinterpret. One should therefore always keep an animal in captivity under their own terms, making time and commitment to learn how to understand their behaviour and language.

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Rabbits are highly sociable animals, and a rabbit which wants attention and is contact seeking, will on its own terms come jumping towards you, often sniffing or nudging you with their nose, as this is their way of greeting. More powerful nudging and even pushing is simply a way of telling you that you need to move, as you are in the rabbit’s way. Licking, and casually settling its body beside you for a rest can show exhibitions of fondness and trust. A rabbit lying down on its side, totally relaxed toward its surroundings, is a great sign of complete trust, and should be taken as a compliment, as the rabbit in many ways is setting its instincts of escape aside, trusting you with its safety. ⁽³⁾

To avoid predators, wild rabbits will stay in their underground burrows during day, coming out at dusk and dawn to eat and play. Rabbits leaping through the air are displaying happiness and playfulness; a performance often seen when domestic rabbits are let out of their cages and are free to roam, referred to as “pop corning” or having a “binky”. ⁽²⁾ This act of playfulness also has a more serious background, training rabbits to be able to quickly change direction and cause confusion when being chased by predators. The underground borrows also often have quick escape routes through a hole in the ceiling, making it possible to get away from underground predators by simply making a giant leap into safer grounds. ⁽⁴⁾ 

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If a rabbits want to be left alone, it will turn its back on you, showing you no interest, or will simply just hop away. A frightened rabbit will with flattened ears press its body to the ground to make itself invisible, waiting for the right moment to escape. In some cases a rabbit will attack. This can come to several reasons. A rabbit can hop toward you, sometimes attacking, when you stick your hands into its cage to pick it up or change its food or water. The rabbit is showing a completely normal, territorial behaviour, and should not be punished! The problem can easily be solved by letting the rabbit jump out of its cage on voluntary grounds, and by giving it fresh food and water when the rabbit is already out of its cage. ⁽⁴⁾

More serious situations, such as anxiety or pain can also make a rabbit attack, as a last resort. Again, punishing it will only make matters worse, and it is the owner’s responsibility to figure out what is wrong by evaluating and fixing the situation. By learning a rabbit’s way of communication, you can use it to your advantage by communicating back; if your rabbit is being naughty, simply stop whatever its is doing, turn your back like a rabbit would do, and walk a few steps away, showing that you are not very impressed with its behaviour. ⁽⁵⁾

Learning the different ways of how your rabbit is trying to communicate with you is a crucial step in maintaining a healthy and peaceful relationship. After all, you have in most cases chosen to bring the rabbit home with you, making it a part of your family, meaning that you should treat it and its individual needs with respect

References

(1) http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/rabbits/factfile

(2) http://www.rabbit.org/behavior/body-language.html

(3) http://www.belgianhares.com/what-is-your-rabbit-saying.html

(4) The Great Book abour Rabbits, Marit Emilie Buseth. Tun Forlag, 2010.

(5) http://www.barneyandjemima.co.uk/communication/unhappy.html

The Story of Rabbits

Rabbits are active, furry animals belonging to the Lagomorph order, which are herbivores, meaning that they feed solely of plants.⁽¹⁾  They are closely related to the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and even though they are domesticated, they still exhibit a lot of the same biology and behaviour as of its wild relatives. Even though they are regarded as popular pets, with over 1 million of them kept in captivity in the UK ⁽²⁾, rabbits have specific needs, which can be very difficult to fulfil when kept in cages, sadly making them one of the most neglected pets in the world. In order to understand the requirements needed to keep a pet rabbit, it is important to know where they come from and how their relatives live.


About three thousand years ago, the Iberian Peninsula was discovered by the Phoenicians. Because of their maritime trading culture, they travelled around the Mediterranean Sea, discovering the area that separates the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean. On one of their journeys, they must have become aware of an unknown species of animals, and fascinated by these springy animals that lived in underground burrows, eating grass and dancing around during twilight, they decided to take some of them back home, and the animals were gradually spread around the Mediterranean area. ⁽³⁾ The Romans started keeping them in cages, to keep a constant meat supply, and they were later introduced to many parts of the world through the means of trade.

The European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus
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It was probably the French monks during the Middle Ages that laid the foundation for today's domesticated rabbits, keeping them in cages. As the flesh of younger rabbits were not regarded as meat, the monks were allowed to eat their meat, also during Lent.^{(2) (3)} Somewhere between 500 and 1000 AD the monks began to selectively breed the rabbits in order to produce different qualities of meat and fur.

Rabbits would escape from their enclosures quite so often, and those who managed to survive, formed colonies in rural areas in several countries. The English wild rabbits, for example, are more closely related to the monks' domesticated rabbits than their original predecessors from Spain.

Rabbits as family animals were long a rarity, and until the mid-1800s they were mostly bred as livestock, valued for their meat and warm fur. With time they would become more and more popular, and are now kept as pets all over the world, even though their biology and behaviour is still closely linked to that of their wild predecessors. 

 ^References

(1)  http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/rabbits/factfile

(2)  http://www.pitchengine.com/noporkpies/the-uks-10-most-popular-pets

     (3) The Great Book abour Rabbits, Marit Emilie Buseth. Tun Forlag, 2010.

The Cats Present Themselves: Feline Language and Communication

Cats are solitary hunters, and are mainly regarded as unsocial compared to other animals. On the contrary, this is not the case, and cats exhibit a wide variety of communicational skills, with their own specific language. A cat’s language or way of communicating is mostly based on vocalizations and sounds (meowing, hissing, purring ect.), markings and smells, as well as subtle body language, some of it that may be picked up on with some practice and prior knowledge.

Cats are thought to have over 30 different sounds ⁽¹⁾, typically used to communicate amongst each other, but also to maybe serve as a warning to other species that get too close. People who have ever been witness to a commencing catfight, would have seen the opponents eye each other up from some distance, with a variety of sounds coming from them both. Cats will do so to display their discontent or level of aggression, hoping to scare its rival away, avoiding any close contact if possible, which could cause damage or pain to those involved. A cat may also hiss or growl if in pain, telling you to stop or stay away. Their meows come in many different shapes and sizes, varying in pitch, volume and tone, according to the situation and message they wish to portray.

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Since cats are solitary creatures, most of the communication between themselves happens through smell, where each cat is leaving its own message. Outside, this mainly happens through urinating, or so called “pee-mail”, where a cat can communicate to others that this is his territory, or that a female is in heat, searching for a mate. Inside it is more common for cats to spread their sent by rubbing on surfaces or furniture, as they have special glands under their skin on their faces and under their chins, producing chemical signals, known as pheromones.⁽²⁾ Pheromones are species specific, meaning that only cats can detect pheromones distributed by other cats. These facial pheromones are known to have a positive and calming effect on cats.

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Although human being can smell the actual cat urine, we are obviously not able to detect the messages of communication coming from our cat. However, when a cat starts urinating inside, it is a clear message that something is wrong. The cat can feel threatened from neighbouring cats, feeling the need to also mark its inside territory. Peeing inside the house can also indicate that the cat is stressed because of things happening in the home, may it be due to moving, introducing a new family member or pet, or other factors causing frustration. This situation is just as frustrating for the owner, and sadly many cats are given away or even put down as a consequence, as their owners are not familiar with the meaning of this sort of communication, mistaking it for bad or unacceptable behaviour. The right solution would be to simply work out the source of stress, and removing it from the home. If this is not possible, artificial pheromones can be used as a part of pheromonatherapy, as the pheromones have a calming effect on cats, and because the cats don’t feel the desire to mark through urination when there are facial pheromones present. ⁽³⁾

Since cats mainly hunt alone, they are not as dependent on body language as for instance wolves or dogs, but they still use body language as a means of communication. Even though the body language can be far more subtle compared to dogs, they are still possible to read and become aware of, with some practice.

When reading body language, it is very important to look at the cat as a whole, including its face, body posture and tail, as only looking at one body part at the time and trying to read its meaning is sure to be misleading.

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The first thing you will notice is your cat’s facial position and expressions, and the use of its ears. A cat will try to greet you by stretching its head up and towards you, with its ears pointed toward you as to show that it is paying attention. A cat may also raise its head to elevate its confidence and to appear bigger during a conflict. Lowering of the head, followed by flattening of the ears might either mean that the cat is submissive, or that it is doing it in an aggressive and protective fashion, in the latter case communicating that it wants to be left alone. As these signals can be easily mixed, its is very important to look at the rest of the cat as well.

The tail of a cat can be used to show a range of different emotions; if a cat comes running toward you with its tail raised in the air, it is most likely a sign that it has come to greet you, whilst a wagging tail can demonstrate annoyance or frustration over the situation.

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Learning the different ways of how your cat is trying to communicate with you is a crucial step in maintaining a healthy and peaceful relationship. After all, you have in most cases chosen to bring the cat home with you, making it a part of your family, meaning that you should treat it and its individual needs with respect.

References

(1) http://www.messybeast.com/cat_talk2.htm

(2) http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/spraying/pheromonatherapy.html

(3) http://www.catchannel.com/behavior/anxioussb0004.aspx

The Story of Cats

Cats are perceived as graceful and elegant animals, and are often admired by their owners for their strong sense of individuality and self-assertiveness; quite the opposite of for instance dogs. According to statistics, cats as pets are outnumbered by dogs in the UK, ranked as the third most popular, with approximately 10.3 million individuals. ⁽¹⁾ However, this number is somewhat uncertain, as it does not take into account the numbers of wild or semi-wild cats, as a result of pet dumping. Even so, it is safe to say that cats are one of the world’s most popular pets, with traces of bonds between humans and cats going back at least as far as 4 000 years ⁽²⁾, if not even further – and they are definitely here to stay!

As with most domestic animals, their origin and time of domestication is a mystery; and as for the cat, there are no exceptions. It is most likely that the domestication of cats took place later in time compared to dogs, as dogs probably were used for hunting by nomadic humans. Cats would have been domesticated when humans started settling down, as they were useful for keeping mice away from stored food. ⁽³⁾

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Keeping this in mind, evidence suggests that cats could have been domesticated as early as 10 000 years ago, as this was the period of time when humans settled in the Fertile Crescent region, domesticating wheat and barley for food purposes. ⁽⁴⁾

It is thought that the domesticated cat (Felis catus or Felis silvestris catus) descended from five different species of wild cats; the Sardinian wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), the Central Asian wildcat (Felis silvestris ornata), the subsaharan African wildcat (Felis silvestris cafra) and the Chinese desert cat (Felis silvestris bieti), which are all subspecies of the wild cat, Felis silvestris. ⁽⁴⁾

References

(1)  http://www.dognews.co.uk/uk-domestic-dog-population-is-larger-than-originally-thought-3/

(2)  http://www.catsinfo.com/history.html

(3)  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief_cats.html

(4)  http://archaeology.about.com/od/domestications/qt/cat.htm

The Dog Present Themselves: Canine Language and Communication

For species living together as a pack, good communication is vital in order to survive. It is important for teamwork during hunting, bringing up offspring, and last but not least to maintain peace and avoid conflict within the pack. Conflicts can be dangerous, causing damage, leading to a weakening of the pack and decreasing their chances of survival. Wolves and dogs have developed remarkable ways of communicating, making them able to avoid or stop conflicts that may occur. ⁽¹⁾ 

A dog’s world in based on sensations from sight, smell, vocalization and hearing. ⁽²⁾ They leave messages of urine as a way of communicating, telling other dogs that this is their territory, or letting them know that they are in heat and ready to mate. A dog’s sense of smell and ability of hearing exceeds a human’s by miles, making it almost impossible for us to pick up any of their scented messages. However, dogs are also, in many cases, extremely vary of changes in behaviour and can detect tiny details and swift signals, making some of them experts at reading body language. Together with their other senses, dogs use this system of body language and signals as means of communications between themselves, and it is therefore naturally that they will try to communicate with other species in the same way, including humans.

Turid Rugaas, a Norwegian dog trainer and behaviourist studying canine social interaction, call some of these gestures calming signals, as they in many occasions are used to avoid conflict and sticky situations. According to Rugaas, there are about 30 signals or more, used as communication between dogs as their universal language. ⁽³⁾ Dogs will also try to communicate with their humans in the same order, and learning how to understand these signals will make life a lot easier for both dogs and humans.

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Yawning is a typical example used by dogs as a calming signal. It can signify that the dog is, in one way or another, displeased with the situation. ⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾ Excessive use of your voice (remember, dogs have an exceptional sense of hearing!), loud noises, stress, feeling uncomfortable or threatened, are all situations that may conjure a yawn. In similar cases, a dog might turn its head away and even start licking its lips to show discomfort, tying to calm down the situation. Licking of the lips is known especially to be commonly used by black dogs, or dogs with a lot of hair covering their face, as they don’t have the same portrayal of facial mimics as other dogs.⁽³⁾

A dog turning its head away when you go over to greet it, might mean that you have appeared too abruptly, making it feel insecure or even threatened.⁽³⁾ This is often typical when greeting an unknown dog for the first time; walking straight over to it and even standing or leaning over it, making it feel uncertain or threatened by your position. ⁽⁴⁾ One might therefore under these circumstances see the dog turn its head down or away, even turn its whole body, letting you known that you have come too close too quickly. It is therefore always advised to walk toward a dog from the side, instead of heading straight on, before crouching down by its side, letting it greet you first through sniffing before attempting to touch or stroke it. ⁽³⁾

 A sudden sniffing of the ground or surroundings, or abrupt scratching are also typical calming signals, and can, together with yawning and licking, be called “displacement behaviours”, where the dog seems to suddenly find other stuff to do to calm and avoid the situation.⁽³⁾⁽⁵⁾ Repeatedly ignoring these signals can turn into potentially dangerous situations; dogs who are seldom socialised with other dogs can end up loosing their language, leading to misunderstandings and possible conflicts when meeting other dogs. Conflicts can also occur between dog and human, were a dogs many attempts on calming or warning a human to stay away simply doesn’t work, sometimes forcing dogs to resort to aggressive behaviour such as snarling or even biting. Situations like these are of course something one would want to avoid at any cost, revealing how important it is to respect animals and their specific language or other means of communication.

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 It is highly important when reading a dogs body language and signals that they are done some by looking at the body language and expressions as a whole, as signals one normally would interpret as friendly could mean something totally different when taken out of context and not being red as a whole together with other signs of communication or body language.

When you have learned some of the basic forms of body language used by dogs, you will grow more and more aware of them, even using them yourself to calm your dog down, in situations of stress or excitement.

Learning the different ways of how your dog is trying to communicate with you is a crucial step in maintaining a healthy and peaceful relationship. After all, you have in most cases chosen to bring the dog inside your house, making it a part of your family, meaning that you should treat it and its individual needs with respect.

References

(1) http://www.doglistener.co.uk/language/language_canine.shtml

(2) http://puppies.about.com/od/BehaviorProblems/a/Dog-Language-How-Dogs-Communicate.htm

(3) On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas. Dogwise    Publishing, 2005

(4) http://puppies.about.com/od/BehaviorProblems/a/How-To-Talk-To-Puppies.htm

(5) http://www.dogspelledforward.com/canine-body-postures/

Domestication - from Wolf to Dog

Dogs are thought to be one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans, and are today use in a wide variety of areas, including working dogs, hunting, herding, guarding, as companionship, and most recently as service dogs. On the basis of this, it can by the first glance seem as though humans were the first to pursue contact with the wolves, but can we really be too certain about this?

 The domestication on wolves and the development of today’s domesticated dogs did clearly not happen over night, and findings from Goyet Cave in Belgium, Chauvet cave in France and Predmosti in the Czech Republic suggest that the process of domestication started long before first imagined, as long as 35 000 years ago. However, the first indication of a working relationship between man and wolf can be found at the Bonn-Oberkassel site, approximately 14 000 years old. ⁽¹⁾

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There are two main hypothesis of how wolf and human came in contact with each other; this was during the time when humans were still nomads, following the migrating patterns of the animals they hunted. The wolves would have been one of the humans’ competition in the hunting game, and it is therefore thought that humans were to first to take contact, finding abandoned wolf cubs, or simply stealing them when possible, to tame them and use them for hunting purposes. This would most likely have happened over a long amount of time, and in geographically different areas, taming several various species of wolves. The wolves showing desirable traits, such as good hunting skills and submissive states of mind were then thought to be chosen for the process of selective breeding, making sure that these characteristics were passed on to the next generation.⁽²⁾

The other hypothesis believes that the wolves were the ones to seek contact with the humans, as their paths were more than likely to cross at several occasions, meaning that some wolves might have became less shy, seeking out food from the humans garbage areas, or even over time from the humans directly. The less shy a wolf became, the more of an advantage it would gain by being able to feed for longer. A natural selection of the more contact seeking wolves could have occurred, making them more and more used to humans, eventually living and working together as the humans control increased. ⁽²⁾

Domestication lead to morphological and behavioural changes, such as changes found in the skeleton. Skeletons were showing a form of juvenile regression; meaning that it returned to a less developed or juvenile state, know as pedomorphism.⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾ The same could be said for the behaviour, meaning that after generations the wolves would decrease in size, as well as exhibiting a more juvenile and playful temperament, eventually leading to the domesticated dog. ⁽¹⁾

References

(1) http://www.kursagenten.no/artikkel/354/Domestisering-1868.aspx

(2) Dominique Grandjean & Franck Haymann, Dog Encyclopaedia by Royal Canin, p. 6 – 8. Published by the Royal Canin Group, 2010.

(3) http://9e.devbio.com/article.php?id=223

The Story of Dogs

Dogs are kept as pets or used for other purposes in most parts of the world, and in the UK alone, there are over 10.5 million dogs. ⁽¹⁾ Taking these numbers in to account, and the dogs importance and increasing role in today’s society, one cannot simply stop wondering where these remarkable creatures originated, and how they came to tie such close relations to human beings.

Dogs, as we know them, belong to the family Canidea. The Canids consists of 38 species ⁽²⁾, as well as several sub species, including Canis familiaris, mans best friend. The exact origin of the domestic dog is still unclear, making the development from wolf to dog a much-debated topic. Some think the domestic dog should be classified as Canis lupus familiaris, as it might have descended from the Grey wolf, Canis lupus.

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The most common perception of the origin of the domestic dog, is that they descend directly from wolves. However, newer research looking into dogs’ genetic information reveals this as only half of the picture. Robert Wayne and his co-workers at UCLA show through genetic research that wolves and dogs share everything but 0.2% of their genetic information,⁽³⁾ supporting the theory that dogs really do descend directly from wolves. On the other hand, Wayne also reveals that the genetic information of dogs might originate from other species of wild canids.

Although there are few specific details of the domestic dog’s history and origin, it is known, on the basis of genetic and behavioural studies, that the dog is a domesticated wolf. But what species of wolf is the domestic dog’s closest relative? Zeuner argumented in 1963 that the Indian wolf Canis lupus pallipes was the closest relative due to its smaller size and less tendencies of aggressive display, making it less of a challenge to tame. ⁽⁴⁾ The European wolf, Canis lupus, and the west Asian wolf, Canis lupus arabs were recognized by Clutton-Brook in 1984 as the domestic dogs most likely ancestor, as they both have a greater representation of genes in the genetic information of arctic dog breeds.⁽⁴⁾ The actual fact may be that dog’s as we know them, and their waste differences in size and appearance is due to the fact that the domestic dog may have been influenced by several types or species of wolves.

There are several plausible theories concerning the origin of the domestic dog, and one can only hope that research eventually will uncover the missing links that may give us more concrete answers than we already have today.

References

(1)  http://www.dognews.co.uk/uk-domestic-dog-population-is-larger-than-originally-thought-3/

(2)  http://entomology.cornell.edu/cals/entomology/extension/outreach/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=1033768

(3)  Dominique Grandjean & Franck Haymann, Dog Encyclopaedia by Royal Canin, p. 2 – 5. Published by the Royal Canin Group, 2010.

(4)  http://www.kursagenten.no/artikkel/354/Domestisering-1868.aspx