Investigations on the hiding behaviour of calves at pasture

This study attempts to classify domestic cattle within the hider-follower d ichotomy. We observed several aspects concerning the time and space pattern of cow and calf at pasture during the first five days p.p. Decreasing dail y lying time of the calves was accompanied by an increase in activity. Beha vioural budgets of cows did not change during that period. The mean distanc e between the cow and her calf decreased form day one to day five p.p. The majority of calves chose places to lie down within strips of high vegetatio n behind the fence line. Time spent there by the calves decreased from the first to the fifth day. The duration of single lying periods of the calves was three times longer within the high vegetation outside the pasture than inside. The results allow us to classify the domestic cattle as a hider spe cies. Areas of high vegetation seemed to be an important requisite for the calves to realise behavioural needs in different functional cycles. Moreove r, from an ecological point of view such areas could serve as temporary ele ments for enriching the monotonous pasture landscape.