Abstract
Social behaviour between individuals and between mixed-sex pairs of Cricetulus griseus was observed in large floor pens. The species exhibited strong intolerance of conspecifics. Females were highly aggressive and dominant over males. Their presence seemed to inhibit aggression between males. Marking appeared to be positively correlated with dominance in females, and may have served for sexual identification in mixed-sex encounters. The site familiarity imposed by the experimental conditions had no effect on the outcome of encounters. Areas of exclusive occupancy were not recognized and defended, although the animals did show respect for nest sites. Aggressive behaviour was normally elicited by violation of an individual distance of about 15 cm.The absence of contact-promoting behaviour and preliminary warnings to attacks suggests a solitary, dispersed existence of C. griseus. The characteristics of a solitary species, such as a burrowing pattern of life, food caching, and a brief period of pair formation, are discussed in relation to earlier studies on the social organization of rodents.
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