SOCIAL-BEHAVIOR OF CAPTIVE BUSH DOGS (SPEOTHOS-VENATICUS)

The bush dog, Speothos venaticus, is a rare forest-dwelling South Amer ican canid. Social behaviour of a captive pack of three adult males an d three adult females was observed over four years in a large enclosur e. The dogs appeared to be compulsively sociable, sleeping in close ph ysical contact, travelling together in single file, and feeding commun ally with minimal aggression. An alpha pair was dominant, but there wa s no clear hierarchy within the pack as a whole. There were, however, separate male and female hierarchies. The pack engaged in various comm unal behaviours, including greeting ceremonies in which individuals mu tually submitted to one another. All dogs urine marked frequently, bot h sexes adopting postures to direct urine upwards and to soak their fu r in odour. Only the alpha female bred successfully, and all other gro up members carried and guarded the young. These observations are discu ssed in the contexts of canid social behaviour and the breeding in cap tivity of this endangered species.