title: Pre-orbital gland opening during aggressive interactions in rusa deer (Rusa timorensis).
abstract: The opening of the preorbital gland in cervids has a visual meaning and is frequently associated with agonistic and/or stress related situations. Apart from in red deer, this behaviour has scarcely been studied and the range of situations when it may occur remains unclear. In this study we report the unusual case of preorbital gland opening in rusa deer, Rusa timorensis, associated to direct aggressive agonistic interaction (biting/kicking) between two adult hinds. This case observed in Tierpark Berlin (Germany) is the first one ever recorded in female-female interactions in cervids. Preorbital gland opening was also studied in 116 social interactions in Plzeň Zoo (Czech Republic). Preorbital gland opening by the dominant adult male was twice observed with relation to alert behaviour, which is also rare. In order to contextualise our observations we summarise the current knowledge about the behaviour associated with preorbital gland opening in R. timorensis and in cervids in general.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcka 129, 165 21 Prague 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic; Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic. Electronic address: francisco.ceacero@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ceacero
authors.affiliation: Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Ostrava Zoo, Michálkovická 197, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pluháček
authors.affiliation: Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komárková
authors.affiliation: Plzeň Zoo and Botanical Garden, Pod Vinicemi 9, 301 16 Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zábranský
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000378:Agonistic Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003670:Deer / Q000502:physiology*; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012543:Scent Glands / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D012930:Social Dominance
keywords: Agonistic interactions; Deer; Dominance; Visual communication