A free-ranging Gray Wolf (Canis lupus), habituated to human presence (the author) on Ellesmere Island, Canada, learned to anticipate experimental feeding by a human, became impatient, persistent, and bold and exhibited stalking behaviour toward the food source. Only after the author offered the wolf about 90 clumps of dry soil over a period of 45 minutes in three bouts, did the wolf give up this behaviour. To my knowledge, this is the first example of extinguishing a learned response in a free-ranging wolf and provides new insight into the learning behaviour of such animals.
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Title | Extinguishing a learned response in a free-ranging gray wolf (Canis lupus) |
| DOI | 10.22621/cfn.v131i1.1951 |
| Authors | L. David Mech |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Series Title | Canadian Field-Naturalist |
| Index ID | 70192328 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center |