How do ungulates recognize edible vs. inedible plants?

Young fawns, calves, wild lambs, kids, foals etc. probably learn the basics of their diet from their mother during the period while the little one is following the mother 'on the heel' and/or foraging within the herd. Herding ungulates that form mother-offspring unit groups probably also relay such experience-based knowledge on the group level as …

Large ungulate bud baths and nutrient dispersal

Numerous trail camera videos reveal the so-called 'mud SPAs' in forested or slightly more open (but, frequently, tree surrounded) sites where many mammals including such large ungulates as the red deer or wild boar wallow and splash around and overall cover themselves in mud which probably serves for cooling, skin- and hair-protective and possibly also …

Predators, prey and exercise

I have been considering aspects of predator-prey relationships that might result in health benefits of prey other than 'weeding out the sick, the weak and the old'. I believe that due to eutrophication, overabundance of low quality resources and as a result of a landscape that is changing too dynamically for the ungulates to adopt …

Large ungulate resting site microhabitats

As I have been watching videos of wild boar sounders and red deer herds, I began wondering if the resting sites that these species select for longer bouts of inactivity could experience temporal changes in their microclimate due to the body heat emanated by the many individuals. Some of these effects could be semi-permanent in …

Traditional foraging behaviour in ungulates and land use changes

As I have been reading more on the behavioural patterns of large ungulates, it becomes clear that these species are endowed with a highly functional spatial memory (Bailey, D.W. et al., 1996) that can advise short-term decisions (foraging within patch or withing feeding site) or long-term decisions (migrating within home range, migrating between summer/winter areas). …