Wallow Of Reason
Wallowing in animals is comfort behaviour during which an animal rolls about or lies in mud, water or snow. Some definitions include rolling about in dust, however, in ethology this is usually referred to as dust bathing. Wallowing is often combined with other behaviours to fulfill its purpose; for example, elephants will often blow dirt over themselves after wallowing to create a thicker "coating", or pigs will allow the mud to dry before rubbing themselves on a tree or rock to remove ectoparasites stuck in the mud. Functions Many functions of wallowing have been proposed although not all have been tested by rigorous scientific investigation. Proposed functions include: *Thermoregulation – domestic pigs (''Sus scrofa''), great Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), warthogs (''Phacochoerus aethiopicus''), elephants (family Elephantidae) *Providing a sunscreen – pigs, warthogs, elephants *Male-male conflict social behaviour – wapiti (''Cervus elaphus''), Eu ...
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Comfort Behaviour In Animals
Comfort behaviours in animals are activities that help maintain the pelage, feathers, integuement or musculoskeletal system and increase the physical comfort of the animal. Comfort behaviours are performed from an early age and change little during development. Several comfort behaviours are associated with the beginning of a rest period (e.g. grooming), whereas others are associated with the end of a rest period (e.g. stretching), possibly to prepare the body for escape or hunting. Others, (e.g. dust bathing) will be performed only when the appropriate internal and external stimuli are present (see also sham dustbathing). Animals generally perform comfort behaviours only when they are not engaged in essential activities (e.g. feeding, drinking, hunting, escape); these behaviours are therefore sometimes categorised as ''luxury activities''. However, animals can be highly motivated to perform some comfort behaviours (e.g. dust bathing in hens), and conditions that thwart these behav ...
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