FEAR REACTIONS OF EWES TO PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES

The aim of this study was to analyse fear reactions of 18 adult Romano v ewes individually confronted with 3 visual stimuli, namely pictures of a human, of a sheep or of a traffic cone (control). These pictures were projected in real size on a wall of the test pen by means of a sl ide projector. Twenty-six behavioural items related to fear were recor ded. Furthermore, fearfulness scores were calculated to compare the ov erall fear levels of the subjects when confronted with the photographi c images. We hypothesized that ii animals recognized a man or a sheep in the presented slides, fear reactions would be enhanced in the prese nce of the picture of a human and reduced in the presence of a sheep p icture as compared with the control situation. Our results suggest tha t ewes may be able to recognize the sheep picture as a conspecific. Fo r example, sniffings were primarily directed towards the anogenital re gion and the head. The reduced fear reactions of isolated ewes in the presence of a sheep picture is similar to that observed previously in the presence of real conspecifics. In contrast, they did not differ wh en sheep were confronted with a human or a control image, indicating t hat additional stimuli may be needed for the human image to be fear-el iciting.