Abstract
We describe a fight between two female plains zebra (Equus burchelli). Plains zebra are ungulates with stable social groups known as harems. Female aggression rarely escalates to the level we observed. The fight immediately followed the birth of a foal to one of the females. The initiating female repeatedly kicked and bit the mother, who reacted aggressively and by guarding her foal. We present hypotheses on the causes underlying this rare event.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 201-205 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Ethology |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2010 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology
Keywords
- Abnormal behavior
- Agonistic behavior
- Equidae
- Equus burchelli
- Female-female aggression
- Infanticide
- Parturition
- Ungulates