Abstract

Understanding whether captive-reared animals destined to reintroduction are still able to discriminate predators has important implications for conservation biology. The endangered European hamster benefits from conservation programs throughout Europe, in which several thousand individuals are released into the wild every year. Despite this, the anti-predator strategy of hamsters and their ability to maintain predator discrimination in captivity remain to be investigated. Here, we explore the predator discrimination behaviour of captive-reared European hamsters and their response to different predation cues. When first exposed to the urine of cats and goats in a Y-maze test, hamsters spent more time close to the cat scent rather than to the goat scent. In a second experiment, during which hamsters were exposed to a non-mobile European ferret (inside a cage), hamsters significantly increased the time spent close to the ferret’s cage and displayed aggressive behaviour towards the ferret. Furthermore, they did not take refuge inside an anti-predation tube (APT), a device designed to upgrade wildlife underpasses and reconnect wild hamster populations. Finally, when exposed to a mobile ferret (but without physical contact), hamsters displayed mobbing and aggressive behaviours towards the ferret, before taking refuge inside the APT. Taken together, our results show that captive-reared hamsters are still able to detect and react to predation cues, but that they initially adopt an offensive strategy (grunting, spitting, mobbing) during the risk-assessment phase. After risk assessment, however, hamsters used the APT as a refuge. Our study provides important insights into the anti-predator behaviour of hamsters. Testing the efficacy of the APT, a device that will allow upgrading wildlife underpasses for the hamster and other rodents, is also of great importance and is instrumental in conservation efforts for these species.

Highlights

  • Predation is a strong selective force that has led prey species to evolve behavioural strategies to minimize predation risk [1]

  • We investigated the perception of predation cues in European hamsters and focused on three main questions: (I) Do captive-reared hamsters perceive predation cues?, (II) Do male and female hamsters respond to controlled predation cues? and (III) Does the perception of predation cues affect their decision to take refuge inside the anti-predation tube (APT)? we conducted three experimental studies

  • We evaluated the use of the APT in the presence of a ‘non-mobile’ predator, the European ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

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Summary

Introduction

Predation is a strong selective force that has led prey species to evolve behavioural strategies to minimize predation risk [1]. When exposed to a predation cue, prey species generally display a risk-assessment phase. Depending on the perceived risk [2], animals will freeze (to avoid being spotted by the predator) or display responses that can be characterized as defensive Understanding how individuals perceive and react towards predators is even more important for endangered species for which the anti-predatory strategies are not well understood, which jeopardizes their conservation (Berger et al 2016). Ensuring that the perception and reaction towards predation cues have not been lost in captive-reared animals [11,12] that are part of restocking programs (in which individuals are released every year to sustain wild populations) appears extremely important

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