Bachelor herd

Bachelor herd

A bachelor herds is a gathering of (usually) juvenile male animals who are still sexually immature, or of 'harem'-forming animals who have been thrown out of their parent groups but not yet formed a new family group.

Examples include seals, dolphins, lions, and many herbivores such as deer and horses. Bachelor herds are thought to provide useful protection for social animals against more established herd competition or aggressive dominant males. Males in bachelor herds are sometimes closely related to each other.

In many species, males and females move in separate groups, often coming together at mating time, or to fight for territory or mating partners. In many species it is common for males to leave or be driven from the group as they mature, and they may wander as lone animals or form a bachelor group for the time being. This arrangement may be long term and stable, or short term until they find a new group to join.

ee also

* Herd


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Herd (disambiguation) — A herd is a large group of animals. Herd may also refer to:In zoology:* Bachelor herd, gatherings of juvenile male animals who are still sexually immature * Herding, the act of bringing individual animals together into a group * Herding dog, dog… …   Wikipedia

  • Ronald Herd — Ronald Heard Ring name(s) Ron Bass Billed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Billed weight 288 lb (131 kg) …   Wikipedia

  • Stallion — A stallion is a male horse that has not been castrated. Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, cresty neck as well …   Wikipedia

  • Horse behavior — is best understood from the perspective that horses are prey animals with a well developed fight or flight instinct. Their first response to a threat is to flee, although they are known to stand their ground and defend themselves or their… …   Wikipedia

  • Gelding — A gelding is a castrated animal mdash; in English, the term specifically refers to a castrated male horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. As a verb, it also refers to the castration procedure itself. The word comes from the Old Norse… …   Wikipedia

  • Colt (horse) — A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term colt is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age. An adult male horse if left intact is called either a stallion or a horse (sometimes full …   Wikipedia

  • hartebeest — /hahr teuh beest , hahrt beest /, n., pl. hartebeests, (esp. collectively) hartebeest. 1. any large African antelope of the genus Alcelaphus, having ringed horns that curve backward: some species are endangered. 2. any of several related African… …   Universalium

  • sable antelope — a large antelope, Hippotragus niger, of Africa, with long, saberlike horns and, in the male, a black coat: an endangered species. * * * ▪ mammal  one of Africa s most impressive antelopes (antelope) and a member of the horse antelope tribe… …   Universalium

  • Oklahoma Baptist University — Motto Eruditione Religioneque Veritas Established 1910 Type Private Endowment $93.7 million President David Wesley Whitlock …   Wikipedia

  • List of Chuck episodes — Chuck is an American spy action comedy drama television series created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. It premiered on the terrestrial television network NBC on September 24, 2007, airing on Monday nights at 8:00 pm ET or 7:00 PM Central… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”