Abstract
Two unrelated groups of sibling coyote/red wolf hybrids (Canis latrans × C. niger) with three males and two females each were observed when each group was (a) housed together, (b) divided by sex into four groups, and (c) reunited after 3 months. Two dominance hierarchies (male and female) in each group were determined by social display. The effects of opposite-sex animals on the characteristics of the hierarchies were studied. Measures included aggressive and friendly interactions plus dominance-associated behaviors such as scent-marking, some aspects of howling, and spatial containment of low-ranking animals. Male hierarchies were characterized by lower levels of aggression than those of females. The presence of males correlated with a striking increase in levels of aggression between females. The rate of scent-marking and howling was greater for the dominant females than for any other individual of either group. The only incidence of spatial containment occurred among females. Individual differences in the expression of dominance-associated behaviors are described.
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