Relation of individual and social characteristics of behavior in the context of achieving successful adaptation on the example of a bachelor group of a semi-wild population of Przewalski’s horse of the Orenburg Reserve

Abstract

The article deals with the relationship between the degree of behavioral synchronization and the index of behavioral diversity and morphofunctional features of Przewalski’s horse in the context of their adaptive significance. It is noted that the indicated behavioral characteristics determine the ability of animals to form cohesive social groups, which underlies the defensive behavior of some species of social animals, especially ungulates of open spaces, as well as their resistance to various environmental factors (e.g., insects, temperature effects, etc.). The index of behavioral diversity reflects the animal’s desire to display motivated behavior, i.e. to satisfy the dominant need from the position of the theory of functional systems. Consideration of these indicators is important for successful reintroduction programs of different animal species. In this study, the adaptation of horses to the steppe ecosystems of the Southern Urals was assessed using the example of a bachelor group of a semi-voluntary population of the studied species living on the territory of the site «Pre-Ural Steppe» of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Orenburg Region Reserves» due to a set of ethological observations. A high level of behavioral synchronization and low values of the behavioral diversity index were recorded in the studied community, explained by morphophysiological adaptation of the species to a long period of feed consumption. A relationship between the above behavioral characteristics and the proportion of different behavioral forms in the studied group of wild horses was noted, indicating effective integration of animals into the ecological niche natural to the species.