TEMPORAL AND SEQUENTIAL STRUCTURE OF VIGILANCE BEHAVIOR OF WILD BOARS (SUS-SCROFA)

It has been argued that animals alternating between feeding and vigilance behavior should scan randomly. However, the spectral analysis of individual sequences of scans and interscan intervals obtained from wild boars (Sus scrofa) shows the existence of significant periodicities; the scans and interscan intervals oscillate regularly among long and short events. For all the examined series, the serial patterns were similar. However, the temporal patterns vary strongly among individuals and depend upon the number of conspecifics present. These results support the assumption of the existence of general behavioral processes, presumably involving self-sustaining endogenous oscillators.