INTERINDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATIONS AND SOCIAL-STRUCTURE OF A MOUFLON POPULATION (OVIS-ORIENTALIS-MUSIMON)

We analysed individual associations between mouflon (Ovis orientalis m usimon) observed during one year in order to find ontogenetic patterns underlying the social structure of the population. A correspondence f actorial analysis was performed on Simpson's coefficients to compare a ssociation profiles. No strong association was found between adults bu t some of the young adult females maintained a preferential bond with their mother until the age of three. Yearling males were firstly unsta ble in their social relations and subsequently developed a strong pref erence for peers (the preferred companion(s) of young adult males were always young adult males). Animals did not prefer to associate with o ther individuals of their own family (Wilcoxon test: n = 53; z = 0.463 ; a < 0.01). Localized abundant food sources caused large regroupings during spring. This was the only case where we noted a series of obser vations where the same unrelated animals were seen together. With the exception of the mother-offspring relationship, individual social pref erences were based on the sex and age of the partner rather than on id entity. The existence of social behaviour profiles dependent on sex an d age is proposed to explain the above results.