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The Social System of Feral Asses ( Equus asinus )
Author(s) -
Woodward Susan L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
zeitschrift für tierpsychologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0044-3573
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1979.tb00294.x
Subject(s) - equus asinus , equus , geography , home range , range (aeronautics) , ecology , population , social organization , desert (philosophy) , precipitation , biology , donkey , demography , habitat , political science , sociology , materials science , meteorology , anthropology , law , composite material
Feral asses ( Equus asinus ) were studied in a desert range in southeastern California, USA. They formed small, highly unstable groups of varied sex and age composition. Older ♂♂ tended to be solitary and some were seasonally territorial. Home ranges of marked individuals overlapped and averaged 32 km 2 . The territory of a marked ♂ occupied 0.5 km 2 . The social and spatial organizations of the study population are compared with other feral ass populations and with other equid species. Loose social organization is viewed as well‐adapted to the low carrying capacity of deserts, and the territorial system similarly adaptive when precipitation is periodic.