Territorial-Defense Interactions with Neighbors and Strangers in Banner-Tailed Kangaroo Rats

Abstract

The long-term, fixed occupancy of a territory by the banner-tailed kangaroo rat ( Dipodomys spectabilis ) suggests that neighbor tolerance would be beneficial to maintaining territorial claims. I examined interactions of same-sex neighbor and non-neighbor pairs in contests related to territorial defense. As predicted, banner-tailed kangaroo rats tolerated neighbors and tended to avoid them. Neighbor pairs of either sex engaged in neutral activities compared to more time in agonistic interactions with strangers. When rats attacked, they directed fewer attacks toward neighbors, waited longer to attack them, and ceased to attack sooner. Fighting occurred in only 22% of the encounters and did not escalate when a territorial owner was paired with either a neighbor or a stranger. D. spectabilis apparently avoids fights and defends its territory in other ways. Familiarity could account for tolerance between neighbors, with olfactory information obtained at sandbathing sites at least one means of communicating neighbor identity.