Agenda of Early Life Experience and Its Association with Sensitivity to Human Presence and Familiarity in Wild-Born Orphaned Captive Cheetahs.

ABSTRACT: It has been argued that domestication explains the ability of domestic animals to use human cues, but similar abilities exist in wild animals repeatedly exposed to humans. Little is known on the importance of the developmental stage of this exposure for developing such abilities. Orphancy and subsequent hand-rearing constitute a quasi-experimental situation for investigating this question. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are interesting as they present a two-step development, spending their first two months of life in a den with occasional visits from the mother, and then accompanying their mother outdoors. Mother loss may occur at any of these stages, and the orphaned cheetahs are then taken under human care. We tested the importance of the stage of development on their long-term perce

SUBMITTER: Gallo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11591097 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature