Play behaviour in goitered gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) in Kazakhstan

Abstract

In this paper, play behaviour of goitered gazelles is considered for the first time. Young gazelles demonstrated play activity most often, followed by adult males and sub-adults, then adult females. Locomotor play (running, jumping) was the most frequently observed play behaviour, while social play (fighting, sexual play) was noted considerably less often and mostly with males. Adult gazelles played mainly in May and gazelle young in June, and primarily in the evenings (19:00-20:00). Most acts of play lasted from several seconds to a half-minute. Young gazelles played often during their suckling period or, at least in the presence of their mothers. Adult females frequently became involved in their young's play, while males played during grazing or butting. In describing goitered gazelle play patterns, we tested five hypotheses: practice-exercise, surplus energy, locomotor play ontogeny, different play types for specific stages of aging, and the social function of play. Our data for playful behaviour of goitered gazelles supported four of the five hypotheses, but contradicted the fourth listed above, which states, at least for Cuvier's gazelles, that locomotor play appears and disappears earlier than social play. The cause of this difference in results may lie in the different conditions under which groups were observed or the different extent of the studies.