Today
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© Photographer: GertPaassen
Deer often become less sociable as they get older. This is the conclusion of scientists from the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh, who conducted research on the island of Rùm in Scotland.
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Lead author Dr. Greg Albery explains, “We found that deer’s social networks shrink as they get older and interact less with others.” The old deer seem to choose to stay in more remote locations, far away from the other deer.
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46 year data set
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The team applied new analysis methods to a large dataset that has been replenished for 46 years, with more than 200,000 sightings of some 3,500 female deer, known as hinds. The older hinds were more often encountered in habitats with fewer other deer and also less grazing.
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It was previously difficult to determine whether older animals are less sociable because of their behavior or because the more sociable individuals died earlier. But this long-term dataset shows that ‘social aging’ occurs at the individual level, with individuals actively choosing to become less sociable as they age.
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The researchers emphasize that more research is needed to understand exactly why the older deer are less sociable. They suggest it may have to do with the habitats preferred by the elderly, where grazing is easier for them.
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Bron: University of Oxford
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