874Accesses
13Citations
4Altmetric
Abstract
Communication in rhinos is primarily mediated by the vocal and olfactory signals as they have relatively poor eyesight. White rhinos are the most social of all the rhinoceros species, they defecate at common dungheaps and the adult bulls use dung and urine to mark their territory. Chemical communication may therefore be particularly important in the social interactions of white rhinos, and its knowledge could be very helpful in their management and conservation. However, no studies have investigated up until now the olfactory discrimination in any rhinoceros species in the wild. We have experimentally studied the reactions of the wild southern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) to the dung of familiar and unfamiliar adult females and adult territorial males. We registered the number of sniffing events, the duration of sniffing and the latency of the vigilance posture from the onset of sniffing. The dung of unfamiliar rhinos was sniffed longer than that of familiar rhinos. The rhinos showed a shorter latency of vigilance posture to the familiar dung of males than that of females. For unfamiliar dung, they displayed a shorter latency of vigilance posture to female than male dung. Our results indicate that the rhinos are able to discriminate the familiarity and sex of conspecifics from the smell of their dung. Olfactory cues could therefore play an important role in the social relationships and spatial organization of the southern white rhinoceros.
This is a preview of subscription content,log in via an institution to check access.
Access this article
Subscribe and save
- Get 10 units per month
- Download Article/Chapter or eBook
- 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
- Cancel anytime
Buy Now
Price includes VAT (Japan)
Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bates LA, Sayialel KN, Njiraini NW, Poole JH, Moss CJ, Byrne RW (2008) African elephants have expectations about the locations of out-of sight family members. Biol Lett 4:34–36
Bekoff M (2001) Observations of scent-marking and discriminating self from others by a domestic dog (Canis familiaris): tales of displaced yellow snow. Behav Process 55:75–79
Campbell-Palmer R, Rosell F (2011) The importance of chemical communication studies to mammalian conservation biology: a review. Biol Conserv 144:1919–1930
Cave AJE (1962) The pedal scent gland inRhinoceros. Proc Zool Soc Lond 139:685–690
Cave AJE (1966) The preputial glands ofceratotherium. Mammalia 30:153–159
Chamaillé-Jammes S, Malcuit H, Le Saout S, Martin JL (2014) Innate threat-sensitive foraging: black-tailed deer remain more fearful of wolf than of the less dangerous black bear even after 100 years of wolf absence. Oecologia 174:1151–1158
Charlton BD (2014) Discrimination of sex and reproductive state in koalas,Phascolarctos cinereus, using chemical cues in urine. Anim Behav 91:118–124
Cinková I, Bičík V (2013) Social and reproductive behaviour of critically endangered northern white rhinoceros in a zoological garden. Mamm Biol 78:50–54
Cinková I, Policht R (2014) Contact calls of the northern and southern white rhinoceros allow for individual and species identification. PLoS One 9:e98475
Davis ALV (1996) Seasonal dung beetle activity and dung dispersal in selected South African habitats: implications for pasture improvement in Australia. Agric Ecosyst Environ 58:157–169
Dulac C, Torello AT (2003) Molecular detection of pheromone signals in mammals: from genes to behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci 4:551–562
Eisenberg JF, Kleiman DG (1972) Olfactory communication in mammals. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 3:1–32
Fouraker M, Wagener T (1996) AZA Rhinoceros husbandry resource manual. Fort Worth Zoological Park, Fort Worth
Freeman EW, Meyer JM, Adendorff J, Schulte BA, Santymire RM (2014) Scraping behavior of black rhinoceros is related to age and fecal gonadal metabolite concentrations. J Mammal 95:340–348
Goddard J (1967) Home range, behaviour and recruitment rates of two black rhinoceros populations. East Afr Wildl J 5:133–150
Gosling LM (1982) A reassessment of the function of scent marking in territories. Z Tierpsychol 60:89–118
Gosling LM, Roberts SC (2001) Scent-marking by male mammals: cheat-proof signals to competitors and mates. Adv Study Behav 30:169–217
Grau GA (1976) Olfaction and reproduction in ungulates. In: Doty RL (ed) Mammalian olfaction, reproductive processes, and behavior. Academic Press, New York, pp 219–242
Groves CP, Fernando P, Robovský J (2010) The sixth rhino: a taxonomic re-assessment of the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros. PLoS One 5:e9703
Heller E (1913) The white rhinoceros. Smithson Misc Collect 61:1–56
Hermes R, Hildebrandt TB, Blottner S, Walzer C, Silinski S, Patton ML, Wibbelt G, Schwarzenberger F, Göritz F (2005) Reproductive soundness of captive southern and northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum, C.s. cotttoni): evaluation of male genital tract morphology and semen quality before and after cryopreservation. Theriogenology 63:219–238
Hermes R, Hildebrandt TB, Walzer C, Göritz F, Patton ML, Silinski S, Anderson MJ, Reid CE, Wibbelt G, Tomášová K, Schwarzenberger F (2006) The effect of long non-reproductive periods on the genital health in captive female white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum, C.s. cottoni). Theriogenology 65:1492–1515
Jojola SM, Rosell F, Warrington I, Swenson JE, Zedrosser A (2012) Subadult brown bears (Ursus arctos) discriminate between unfamiliar adult male and female anal gland secretion. Mamm Biol 77:363–368
Knight M (2013) African rhino specialist group report. Pachyderm 54:8–27
Kretzschmar P, Ganslosser U, Goldschmidt A, Aberham A (2001) Stimulation of territorial and mating behaviour by faecal samples. A comparative study on behaviour of captive and free-living white rhinoceros. In: Schwammer HM, Foose TJ, Fouraker M, Olson D (eds) A research update on elephants and rhinos. Proceedings of the international elephant and rhino research symposium, Vienna, 7–11 June 2001. Schuling, Münster, pp 299–302
Krueger K, Flauger B (2011) Olfactory recognition of individual competitors by means of faeces in horse (Equus caballus). Anim Cogn 14:245–257
Laurie A (1982) Behavioural ecology of the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). J Zool 196:307–341
Linklater WL, Flamand J, Rochat Q, Zekela N, MacDonald E, Swaisgood R, Airton DF, Kelly CP, Bond K, Schmidt I, Morgan S (2006) Preliminary analyses of the free-release and scent-broadcasting strategies for black rhinoceros reintroduction. Ecol J 7:26–34
Linklater WL, Mayer K, Swaisgood RR (2013) Chemical signals of age, sex and identity in black rhinoceros. Anim Behav 85:671–677
McGregor PK, Catchpole CK, Dabelsteen T, Falls JB, Fusani L, Gerhard C, Gilbert F, Horn AG, Klump GM, Kroodsma DE, Lambrechts MM, McComb KE, Nelson DA, Pepperberg IM, Ratcliffe L, Searcy WA, Weary DM (1992) Design of playback experiments: the Thornbridge Hall NATO ARW consensus. In: McGregor PK (ed) Playback and studies of animal communication. Plenum, New York, pp 1–9
Meister J (1997) Untersuchungen zum Sozial- und Reproduktionsverhalten von Breitmaulnashőrnern (Ceratotherium simum) in zoologischen Einrichtungen. Disssertation, University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Metrione LC, Penfold LM, Waring GH (2007) Social and spatial relationships in captive southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum). Zoo Biol 26:487–502
Nakabayashi M, Yamaoka R, Nakashima Y (2012) Do faecal odours enable domestic cats (Felis catus) to distinguish familiarity of the donors? J Ethol 30:325–329
Owen-Smith RN (1971) Territoriality in the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Burchell. Nature 231:294–296
Owen-Smith RN (1973) The behavioural ecology of the white rhinoceros. Dissertation, Wisconsin University
Owen-Smith RN (1975) The social ethology of the white rhinocerosCeratotherium simum (Burchell 1817*). Z Tierpsychol 38:337–384
Penny M (1987) Rhinos: an endangered species. Christopher Helm Publishers Limited, Kent
Péron F, Ward R, Burman O (2014) Horses (Equus caballus) discriminate body odour cues from conspecifics. Anim Cogn 17:1007–1011
Rachlow JL, Kie JG, Berger J (1999) Territoriality and spatial patterns of white rhinoceros in Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe. Afr J Ecol 37:295–304
Rookmaaker K (2011) A review of black rhino systematics proposed in Ungulate Taxonomy by Groves and Grubb (2011) and its implications for rhino conservation. Pachyderm 50:72–76
Rookmaaker LC, Antoine PO (2012) New maps representing the historical and recent distribution of the African species of rhinoceros:Diceros bicornis,Ceratotherium simum andCeratotherium cottoni. Pachyderm 52:91–96
Rubenstein DI, Hack MA (1992) Horse signals: the sounds and scents of fury. Evol Ecol 6:254–260
Shrader AM, Owen-Smith N (2002) The role of companionship in the dispersal of white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 52:255–261
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (2012) Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W.H Freeman and Company, New York
Swaisgood RR, Lindburg DG, Zhou X, Owen MA (2000) The effects of sex, reproductive condition and context on discrimination of conspecific odours by giant pandas. Anim Behav 60:227–237
Swaisgood RR, Zhou X, Zhang G, Lindburg DG, Zhang H (2003) Application of behavioral knowledge to conservation in the giant panda. Int J Comp Psychol 16:65–84
Swaisgood RR, Dickman DM, White AM (2006) A captive population in crisis: testing hypotheses for reproductive failure in captive-born southern white rhinoceros females. Biol Conserv 129:468–476
van Rooyen N, Bredenkamp G (1996) Waterberg moist mountain bushveld. In: Low AB, Rebelo AG (eds) Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria
Vrba I, Donát P (1993) Activities version 2.1. Computer programme for behavioural studies
Webster H, McNutt JW, McComb K (2012) African wild dogs as a fugitive species: playback experiments investigate how wild dogs respond to their major competitors. Ethology 118:147–156
West BT, Welch KB, Galecki AT (2007) Linear mixed models: a practical guide using statistical software. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton
White AM, Swaisgood RR, Zhang H (2004) Urinary chemosignals in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): seasonal and developmental effects on signal discrimination. J Zool 264:231–238
Wiley RH (2003) Is there an ideal behavioural experiment? Anim Behav 66:585–588
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the management and owners of Welgevonden Game Reserve and Lapalala Wilderness for permission to conduct this study and for personal accommodation. We very much appreciate the helpfulness, advice and/or information on the studied animals from Jonathan Swart, Gerhardt Lorist, André Burger, Shaun McCartney and Hennie Roets of Welgevonden Game Reserve and Anton Walker, Hermann Müller, Elias Mangwane and Lin Insel of Lapalala Wilderness. We would like to thank Vítězslav Bičík, Stanislav Bureš and Norman Owen-Smith for their support of this study. The project was financially supported by the Internal Grant Agency of Palacký University in Olomouc PRF 2014-018 and by the mobility grant from Palacký University to IC. We are very thankful to two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their comments, which helped improve the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical standard
The project was approved by the Ethical Commission of the Faculty of Science, Palacký University, and adhered to the “Guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioural research and teaching” as published by the ASAB (2012). The project complies with the current laws of South Africa and the Czech Republic.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
Ivana Cinková
Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic
Richard Policht
Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Richard Policht
- Ivana Cinková
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
- Richard Policht
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
Corresponding author
Correspondence toIvana Cinková.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cinková, I., Policht, R. Discrimination of familiarity and sex from chemical cues in the dung by wild southern white rhinoceros.Anim Cogn18, 385–392 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-014-0810-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative