Responses of aardwolves,Proteles cristatus, Sparrman 1783, to translocated scent marks

Abstract

We tested the discrimination abilities of aardwolves by monitoring their response to scent marks of male or female donors varying in familiarity translocated into their territories. We followed aardwolves in a vehicle and collected grass stalks with single fresh scent marks. The next evening we placed these grass stalks at dens and middens in the territory of another aardwolf, which we subsequently followed for the whole night. During 43 experiments 617 stalks were translocated. Of these, 164 were located by the animal followed. Both males and females overmarked more frequently, changed their dens more often and increased their scent-marking rate more when they found scent marks of same-sex donors than those of the opposite sex, except during the mating season. Along territory borders and at middens, the majority of marks were sniffed for short periods and overmarked. However, aardwolves seldom overmarked marks at dens in use and sniffed them for much longer, often showing flehmen. Flehmen and prolonged sniffing seemed to indicate investigatory behaviours. They were most prevalent towards the first mark of a nonresident found that evening and particularly towards strangers’ marks or (in the case of males) those of a female during the mating season. Overmarking seemed to be asserting territorial ownership. After locating a neighbour's scent mark the resident also immediately increased its rate of scent-marking and often went directly to the respective border. The results suggest that scent marks may function in intimidating intruders and to synchronize mating in the aardwolf.