Escape Responses
Behaviours that reduce the risk of being caught by predators are another very important part of an animal’s lifestyle. There is a fine balance however, because if an animal spends too much time being cautious it is likely to not eat enough and be malnourished. On the other hand, if they spend too much time eating, their lack of attention could leave them vulnerable to predators. A releaser may be for example a shadow seen by birds. The response to a dangerous-looking shadow will be evasive action by the bird. However it is important to recognize that the response only occurs to the releaser of shadows of short-necked birds (generally predatory) and not long-necked birds (such as geese which would pose no threat). Yabbies when startled respond according to where they are touched. When touched on their tail, they instinctively curl up and propel in opposite direction. This is compared to when touched on head, when they quickly curl tail to propel backwards. In comparison, some animals have behaviours to ward off predators more than escape themselves. When exposed to danger, the slow-moving rattle snake ‘rattles’ it’s tail to scare off predators; just as blue-ringed octopi show off bright blue rings when alarmed to ward off would-be predators.
Territorial behaviour
Many animals define a certain area as their territory, which they patrol and defend aggressively. The advantage of this is that within their territory they have sole access to resources and is important in many courting situations. Territorial borders are marked by
scents or by singing (such as in birds). By enacting upon territorial behaviour such as
defending territory, (the releaser being another male) the survival advantage is there would be
less competition. However the disadvantage is the large expenditure of energy during defensive behaviours. Many animals complete these behaviours including possums, seals, deer, birds, dogs and tigers.
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