Activities of Blue bull, Boselaphus tragocamelus during partial solar eclipse: a case study in captivity

Abstract

A comparative study was made to observe the change in basic activities of Blue bull due to solar eclipse. The study was conducted over 3 consecutive days including the day of a partial solar eclipse (22 July 2009), 1 day earlier and 1 day after at the Zoological Garden, Alipur, Kolkata. The activities of individuals of both sexes were recorded by two observers by applying the focal animal sampling method. It was observed that the time spent in feeding, scanning, lying and social activities was increased or decreased on the day of the solar eclipse. A significant difference in some activities between normal days and the day of the solar eclipse varied among male and female individuals. It was also recorded that the average duration of scanning and lying in males increased on the day of the solar eclipse, while in females the average duration of standing, scanning and walking increased, and lying decreased, on the day of the solar eclipse. The recorded data reveals that the rate of feeding, lying and social activities of males decreased in solar eclipse hours while the rate of feeding decreased and the rate of scanning increased in females in solar eclipse hours. In conclusion, the results show changes in basic activities of Blue bull in comparison to a normal day. We may conclude that the normal cycle of the basic activities of Blue bull maintained by the biological clock system was guided to some degree by the phenomenon of the solar eclipse.