Animal Behavior

• Reaction of an organism to stimuli or the environment
• Behaviors can be instinctive or learned

Instinct

• Behavior that occurs automatically to a stimulus
• A “fight or flight” response
• Some instinctive behaviors can be tamed over time

Working With Animals

• Understanding the behavior of animals aids in safe handling
• Major considerations are:
  • Temperament- influenced by genetics, animal’s fear, and the way the animals are handled
  • Degree of tameness- affects handling strategies and effectiveness
  • Perceptions of animals- difference in how animals percieve things compared to humans

Novelty

• New or different things in the environment of an animal causes stress
• The effect of novel items on animals depends on training and temperament
• New items both frigthen and intrigue them
• “scaring cows lmao!!!!”

Vision

• Livestock can see a wider range than humans
• Blind spot is directly behind them
• Depth perception tends to be poor
• Changes in flooring surface, lighting, color, and movement cause distraction and possible fright
• Some tame animals can overcome their fear and learn to investigate something they cannot see (police horses, military dog)

Noise

• Animals have a different sensitivity to noise than people
• Unexpected and loud noises increase the likelihood of stress
• Continuous sound, such as music, can condition animals to be less stressed around noise

Flight Zone

• Personal space of an animal
• Size is based on familiarity with people
  • Tame animals have little to no flight zone
• In the flight zone
  • Animals turn and move away
• Outside the flight zone
  • Animals face and look at the person