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Untersuchungen zum Sozialverhalten des Rindes
499
tions which, it is hoped, will receive due consideration. applied animal ethology is all about, then what is?
If that is not what
A. LITTLEJOHN
(Pretoria, Republic of South Africa)
BRAMA CATTLE Untersuchungen zum Sozialverhalten des Rindes, by V. Reinhardt. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 1980, 89 pp., illustrated, price SFr 29.50/DM 32.00 U.S. $19.50, ISBN 3-7643-1138-X. The author observed free-ranging Brama cattle for two years on a farm in Kenya. He used a classical field-study approach, getting to know one homerange group of cows intimately and observing known individuals daily. He found that females formed close social bonds with their offspring, which lasted well beyond weaning and the birth of the next calf. Although the cows lived in a clear, unambiguous dominance hierarchy, they were bonded by mutual grooming relationships; overt aggression was very rare. Moreover, the cows had preferences for certain other cows so that “befriended” pairs grazed and rested together. Group members knew each other well and when two groups were mingled experimentally, each group quickly reestablished itself. No impetus exists for one cow to transfer to another group; such a move would entail loss of grooming partners, grazing partners and relatives. When groups met on the range the respective herd bulls drove the females back, keeping the two groups apart. Although calves played frequently, adult individuals did not, probably due to lack of time, as time was short for grazing, ruminating and watching for predators. The normal social signals of cattle are fairly well described in this monograph. This represents a good natural-history study of free-ranging cattle under a minimum of human care. V. GEIST
(Vancouver,
Canada)
tions which, it is hoped, will receive due consideration. applied animal ethology is all about, then what is?
If that is not what
A. LITTLEJOHN
(Pretoria, Republic of South Africa)
BRAMA CATTLE Untersuchungen zum Sozialverhalten des Rindes, by V. Reinhardt. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 1980, 89 pp., illustrated, price SFr 29.50/DM 32.00 U.S. $19.50, ISBN 3-7643-1138-X. The author observed free-ranging Brama cattle for two years on a farm in Kenya. He used a classical field-study approach, getting to know one homerange group of cows intimately and observing known individuals daily. He found that females formed close social bonds with their offspring, which lasted well beyond weaning and the birth of the next calf. Although the cows lived in a clear, unambiguous dominance hierarchy, they were bonded by mutual grooming relationships; overt aggression was very rare. Moreover, the cows had preferences for certain other cows so that “befriended” pairs grazed and rested together. Group members knew each other well and when two groups were mingled experimentally, each group quickly reestablished itself. No impetus exists for one cow to transfer to another group; such a move would entail loss of grooming partners, grazing partners and relatives. When groups met on the range the respective herd bulls drove the females back, keeping the two groups apart. Although calves played frequently, adult individuals did not, probably due to lack of time, as time was short for grazing, ruminating and watching for predators. The normal social signals of cattle are fairly well described in this monograph. This represents a good natural-history study of free-ranging cattle under a minimum of human care. V. GEIST
(Vancouver,
Canada)