Research has found that wolves are very strategic about where they deposit their scat. Wolves do not do their business in any old place, instead they select plants that maximize the visual impact and odor distribution of their feces.
Isabel Barja inspected wolf scat in a region of the Iberian Peninsula. During the study, 101 wolf scats were identified on plants, with 74.8 percent of them placed on conspicuous substrates, indicating they served a marking function. Computer analysis of these choices revealed that plant selection by wolves was not random, with the animals consistently defecating on plants of a certain diameter, height and species.
Barja said that, "the wolves select positively only poplar-leaved rock rose, Spanish white broom and maritime pine for fecal marking." These are plants that can match wolf heights and also that "stood out against the homogeneous background of more common plants." She also noted that sometimes up to three wolves would defecate on a single, "popular" plant.
The same logic may explain why dogs often do their business at particular places when on walks with their owners. "In an urban setting, a fire hydrant can be a prominent landmark. If a dog relieves itself there, other dogs could smell its presence 30 yards away." She also said that canines appear to emphasize height when marking with urine, with dogs "trying to pee as high as they can on fences and other objects in their environment." Like a person pumping up their chest and muscles to look big and impressive, highly placed urine could suggest the individual may not be one to reckon with. "That's probably why when little dogs urinate, they often lift their back leg up as high as possible, sometimes looking as though they're nearly falling over, because they're trying to pee as high as they possibly can."
Barja worries that clear cutting of vegetation in the wild could disrupt wolf fecal marking, and says "it is important to maintain the vegetation of the human constructed roads in the territories of the wolves."
Posted by Brittany Monteiro (5)
Who would have thought?! So these species that the wolves scat on are similar in the fact that they are raised higher than the others? Why don't they just use trees to mark their territory instead? Or was the study primarily focusing on scrub species? Do you think there are other factors involved with this behavior other than to feign height? Do these plants hold the scent longer? And why would the diameter of the plant matter?
ReplyDeleteExtremely interesting article!
Posted by Christine Rega
First of all, best title yet. Second, it makes me wonder why my dog leaves both feet on the ground and lazily pees right into the grass. She's not old or achey and could easily lift a leg and get some pee up high, but she doesn't. What the hell?
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that someone decided to study where wolves poop! Who would of thought of that???
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting that the wolves choose specific places to defecate. Do wolves know what plants are the "popular" ones so know where to check for markings from other wolves? Does the "popular" plant differ when looked at in different populations?
-Tricia Carlson
I wonder what it is about these plants that makes wolves choose them to mark their territory. I agree that it is important to keep the vegetation and territories the same. It's a shame that humans destroy the habitats of other species. When you said that sometimes different wolves would defecate on the same plant, were these wolves from the same pack? And if not, would the wolves consider it a challenge to their territory?
ReplyDelete-Emily Crete
The things that people choose to study...
ReplyDeleteDid the article explain why the wolves choose to defecate on prominant plants? Is this a territorial behavior, where the wolves are trying to get their scent to cover as much area as possible? Do the "popular" types of plants differ in different types of wolves or in different populations?
-Sarah Benjamin
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ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting. I have heard that dogs urinate in the same place in order to communicate with each. I believe that is why they are always smelling around; to find where others have urinated before. I believe that the wolves are doing the same thing as the dogs. I think that they do it high up so that other wolves can locate it.
ReplyDelete-Sam Babcock
Is there a reason that all the plants have the same diameter? I understand why they are a certain height if you compare it to dogs urinating as high as they can, but I do not see why the diameter of the plant would matter.
ReplyDelete-Tara Quist
i liked this article because i'm interested in evolution, i think it's neat when an article compares animals that are related and shows a related behavior like this in dogs and wolves. i also like that it creates a concern and ties in how important the environment is to animals and their behaviors.
ReplyDelete-gina fortunato