Behavioral Genetics and Animal Science - Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals - page 26

Taming Does Not Change Nervous System Reactivity
Adult wild rats can be tamed and become accustomed to handling by people
( Galef, 1970 ). This is strictly learned behavior. Taming full-grown wild
animals to become accustomed to holding by people will not diminish their
response to a sudden novel stimulus. This principle was demonstrated by
Grandin et al. (1995) in training wild antelope at the Denver Zoo for low-
stress blood testing. Nyala are African antelope with a hair-trigger flight
response used to escape from predators. During handling in zoos for veteri-
nary treatments, nyala are often highly stressed and sometimes panic and
injure themselves. Over a period of three months, Grandin et al. (1995)
trained nyala to enter a box and stand quietly for blood tests while being fed
treats. Each new step in the training had to be done slowly and carefully.
Ten days were required to habituate the nyala to the sound of the doors
on the box being closed.
All the training and petting by zoo keepers did not change the nyala's
response to a sudden, novel stimulus. When the nyala saw repairmen on the
barn roof, they suddenly reacted with a powerful fear response and crashed
into a fence. They had become accustomed to seeing people standing at the
perimeter of the exhibit, but the sight of people on the roof was novel and
very frightening. Sudden movements, such as raising a camera up for a pic-
ture, also caused the nyala to flee.

Domestic Wild

Wild herding species show much stronger fear responses to sudden novelty
compared to domestic ruminants such as cattle and sheep. Domestic rumi-
nants have attenuated flight responses due to years of selective breeding
( Price, 1984 ). Wild ruminants learn to adapt in captivity and associate people
with food, but are more likely to become agitated and injure themselves
when frightened by novel stimulus ( Grandin, 1993b, 1997 ). Fear is more
likely when they are prevented from fleeing by a fence or other barrier.
Principles for training and handling all herding animals are basically similar.
Training procedures used on flighty antelope or placid domestic sheep are
the same. The only difference is the amount of time required. Grandin (1989c)
demonstrated this by training placid Suffolk sheep to voluntarily enter a tilting
restraining device in one afternoon. The nyala at the Denver zoo took three
months to train. Each new procedure had to be introduced in smaller increments
to prevent an explosive flight reaction.

Versus

NEOTENY
Neoteny is the retention of the juvenile features in an adult animal. Genetic
factors influence the degree of neoteny in individuals. Neoteny is manifested