Understand how an Animals Body Structure and Systems are Adapted to its Environment

One animal that is specially adapted to its environment is the Chinese Alligator. When an animal is adapted it means that it has features which enable the animal to survive and thrive in its environment. The Chinese Alligator is widely distributed throughout China, mainly along the Yangtze River and some of its tributaries. They can be found in rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, swamps and marshes. Chinese Alligator habitat is in the subtropics which have a mixture of weather featuring strong winds and humidity, thunderstorms and heavy rain. The average temperatures are 30 degrees Celsius in the summer months and 10 degrees Celsius in the winter.

Alligator’s skeletons have many adaptations to help them to survive in their environment. As you can see they have four limbs which are very short and stocky and this is because they spend most of their time in water so therefore they don’t need to be able to run to catch prey or be able to move fast on land although they have adapted to be able to stretch their legs and lift their bodies right off of the group so that they can run at a fast speed for a very small distance so that they can escape danger and the main reason is so that they can protect their eggs from predators because they actually nest on land. They also have an extremely long coccygeal vertebrae/tail, this is extremely powerful and is adapted to their environment because it makes them incredible swimmers and helps them to catch prey because it gives them lots of power to burst out from under the water. It also makes them very fast. It also is used for protection because they can swing it around and it is very powerful so it can help them to protect their nests from other lizards and also helps them to communicate with other Alligators and to assert their dominance. It is also very powerful and muscular to help Alligators because they use it to help them dig out their burrows and also to gather emergency water reserves for their burrows. They have a very distinctive and strong skull, this an adaptation to their environment because this is their main weapon when hunting and it has to be strong not only to help them hunt but so that they can communicate and it is used in one of the main methods of Alligator fighting which is where they smash their heads together, they will fight like this to assert their dominance and also to compete for mating etc. It is also adapted to hunting because Chinese Alligators skulls are adapted to hunting because they contain lots of power which helps them to catch and hold onto their prey even in difficult conditions such as under water. Another adaptation to their limbs is that although they spend most of their time in water and are amazing swimmers, they actually don’t have webbed feet; this is because they actually dig burrows in water banks which I will go on to talk about in more detail later on. This is seen more clearly in the front feet than the back because they front feet are more commonly used for digging these burrows. This is seen in the image above. One more adaptation is actually the size of the animal; the Chinese Alligator is the smallest species of Alligator growing to about 5ft on average, now this is an adaptation to its environment because the main types of prey that the hunt are fish and small mammals so therefore there is no need for them to be large in size and also it would make it more difficult for them to hunt because it would make it a lot more difficult to ambush their prey because there would be a lot more to try and hide and so therefore they made stand out more and it would make it more difficult for them to hunt.

Next I am going to talk about how the Chinese Alligators sensory systems have adapted to their environment. Their eyes, as with all crocodilian species have adapted to being able to see underwater, they have done this because they have an extra eyelid which is called the nictitating membrane. It is semi-transparent and covers the eyes when the Alligator is submerging underwater, however their eyes have never adapted to actually being able to focus underwater because they do not actually need to be able to thanks to their other senses. Alligators eyes are also placed on the sides of their head which is an adaptation so that they have excellent peripheral vision (the only place they can’t see is right behind them) and this is good because in their environment they need to be able to see around to be able to protect themselves and especially their young from predators and it also makes it much easier for them to spot and catch prey. Another adaptation to the Alligator is that their eyes and nostrils are located on the tops of their heads so therefore this allows them to fully submerge their entire body underwater which helps them to camouflage while they are hunting for prey. This is seen in the picture to the left. Alligators have also adapted to have special flaps of skin which closes of their ears and nostrils whenever they go under water in order for them to remain water tight. They also have a special flap called the Palatal Valve which closes off the back of the throat to stop water from getting into the throat, stomach and lungs so therefore this shows how they really are specially adapted to living in water because it helps to allow them to stay under water for long periods of time. A normal dive can last 10-20 minutes but a alligator can stay under water for up to two hours if at rest and if it is cold water then they can stay fully submerged for up to 8 hours!  The palatal valve shutting off the entire throat allowing them to remain water tight and submerge underwater for such long periods of time. Alligators eyes have also adapted to hunting in dark conditions because not only can it be dark under the water but also for them to have become such amazing predators they hunt not only in the day but also at night so they have eyes similar to a cats in that they reflect light which enables them to see in the dark. Alligators also have very good hearing and they have a small muscle in the middle ear which is called the stapedius which geckos also have and this helps them to suppress strong vibrations so that their ears are less likely to become damaged from loud noises such as animals yelping. Chinese Alligators upper and lower jaws are also covered with sensory pits known as Dermal Pressure Receptors which respond to the slightest disturbances in the surface water, detecting vibrations and small pressure changes in the water, making it possible to detect prey, danger and intruders even in complete darkness.

‘Alligators are ectotherms, instead of staying warm by having a high metabolic rate, as mammals and birds do, they regulate body temperature primarily by behavioural means.’ (Thorbjarnarson and Wang , JT and XW, 2010. The Chinese Alligator: Ecology, Behavior, Conservation, and Culture. 1st ed. Unknown: Unknown.) There are many ways in which Chinese Alligators have adapted to be able to thermoregulate in the conditions in which they live and there are many techniques which they use including avoiding temperature extremes, moving around to and from sources of heat and opening or shutting their mouths in order to lose of hold in heat (if their mouth is open then they are trying to lose heat). The main way in which Alligators have adapted to be able to thermoregulate in their environment is by building burrows. Alligators live in environments with changing weather conditions which is unlike most other crocodilians which live in places where the weather remains relatively hot all year round. So therefore by building burrows this means that Chinese Alligators are able to hibernate for 6-7 months of the year which would be the winter months, if they were not able to do this then they would die out because they get all of their energy from heat so if they aren’t warm enough then they would become unable to hunt and so would starve. The burrowing systems also come in handy when it is too hot because it not only means that the Alligators can escape the sun and cool off but it also means that because of the clever way they construct these burrows that if the river/ area of water they were living in was to dry up then it is likely that water would remain in their burrow so they could live in there until the rainy season came. (Alligators can go for up to a month without eating so they wouldn’t starve.)

The next area of adaptation that I am going to talk about in a Chinese Alligator is how their skin has adapted to their environment and this can be linked back to how Alligators have adapted to be able to thermoregulate in their environment too. Alligator’s skin has adapted in many ways but the main way it has adapted is that it is made up of very tough scales which are used for protection against other animals, other alligators and the harsh environment. These scales shed individually which means that they have a minimal effect on the alligators live and do not interfere with things such as hunting and appetite unlike with other reptiles. The fact that they shed also helps to keep them strong and in good condition and helps to heal any wounds quicker in order to stop infection. On the head of and Alligator the skin is actually fused to the bones of the skull which is because the head is the area that takes the most damage on a crocodile because thrashing prey can easy damage the head and also when alligators fight they tend to smash their heads together and snap at each other’s faces so this helps to make the skin a lot stronger and to protect them. The way that the adaptations of the skin link back to thermoregulation is that Alligators have blood-rich bumpy scales all along their backs which act as little solar panels so therefore if a Alligator is feeling to cold it will go up onto the bank and lay in the sun and the heat will be absorbed through all of these panels and then once they get too hot they will go back into the water and this will cool them down because it will stop the heat absorbing scales from absorbing any extra warmth. The only exception to this is that sometimes when Chinese Alligators have a really hot summer the body of water that they are living in may actually become hotter than laying in the sun would be so therefore this is when they would use their burrows to cool down because it keeps them out of the sun so their isn’t as much heat for the scales to absorb on their backs. Another adaptation of the skin can be linked back to the skeletal system of an Alligator and it is that just under the scales all over an Alligators body are tiny plates of bone called Osteoderms which provide the Alligators which an extra form of protection and acts like an armour. These are what form the small bumps all over their skin. They need this armour because they live in a very harsh environment and share it with other alligators and this means that they will fight and due to the strength of alligators they need to have an incredibly strong skin so that it is hard to penetrate otherwise they would not be able to survive. It also protects them when they are catching prey because when they catch their prey the prey tend to thrash around and many of their prey species will have sharp claws, teeth, hooves and so they need to have some form of protection against this and Osteoderms are the main reason they have been able to survive such a long time and why they are such an amazing, specially adapted creature which has been around for about 180 million years. The picture on the right shows a close up of Osteoderms.

So overall you can see that there are many ways in which Alligators are specially adapted to their environment and without these adaptations it is highly unlikely that they would have survived this long. These adaptations could be seen as the reasons why Alligators have been around as long as they have and survived through so much. 

Paradise Wildlife Park Work Experience Diaries

Written from the 15th July 2012 - 7th September 2012

Tomorrow will be the start of 8 full weeks of work experience for me at an amazing zoo known as Paradise Wildlife Park! I am feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves, this will be the longest and most intensive work experience I have ever completed, I will have worked 320 hours by the end of these eight weeks. This is going to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life and is going to give me so much experience and increase my knowledge immensely. 

Week one  - 
Day one was one of the most amazing days! I was so nervous, but it turned out so good! I have made new friends, both humans and people. And I am already growing in confidence and proving myself which is something I plan to continue. I was working with the small mammals today, i cleaned out and fed bats and cleaned out other enclosures, i learnt so much even if it was just one day! The rest of the week definitely lived up to that of the first day! I got to do things by myself like go in with the Coati and feed and clean her, cleaning and feeding the squirrels and skunks and making feeds as well as setting up all of the bat food around their enclosure! I also got to go in with the Corsac foxes and clean and feed them, go in with the red pandas, clean out and feed the otters, and also cleaned out one of the meerkat enclosures. I met some truly amazing people too who gave me some brilliant advice. Can't wait for next week!

Week two - 
This week i was on farmyard, which i was really nervous about because i hate change but i soon settled in and i made two really good friends pretty much straight away! This week i worked with so many things such as goats, pigs, sheep, rats, chinchillas, tenrecs, i worked more closely with meerkats, ponies, rabbits, guinea pigs and mice. It doesn't sound very exciting but i really enjoyed it more than i thought i would and i learnt alot and fell in love with some of the animals that i've never really been interested in such as the pigs! Some of the highlights of my week were getting to help move the mice into new enclosures including their babies which were tiny and also getting to watch a goat give birth with help from some of the keepers due to complications which was amazing!

Week three - 
This week i was on paddocks and it was just as amazing as i imagined it to be! It is such hard work but it is so good and worth it! I even got to feed the tapirs on my first day before i went home! I was also on section with two amazing other work experience this week and we all got on great and worked extra hard to prove to our head keeper that we could do it! We got to do all sorts, including working with two species of dear, camels, alpacas, reindeer, emus, wallabies, tapirs and red foxes!! It is definitely my favourite section so far! And by the end of the week i think we succeeded in our mission to impress the head of paddocks which was brilliant!!!

Week four - 
This week i was finally on birds, my most dreaded section!! I have only ever heard bad things about this section and how little you actually get to do, and i'm not very in to birds anyway. And how right i was, the week was pretty much terrible, the only good part of it was the one day when we were with Nicky (a new bird keeper) and she let us fly Stella the owl!! (Biggest species of owl in Europe) It was scary but amazing :D The most exciting thing that we got to do other than that was clean out the small aviaries and that was only because they contained the Lorikeets and i fell completely in love with these birds! They have so much character <3 Most of the week was either spent chasing up the keepers to find out the next stupid job they wanted to give us or weeding (i've never done so much weeding in my life, and my dad used to be a gardener!). I really hope i'll never have to be on this section again!

Week five - 
This is the week of my birthday, i was praying that i would be on Paddocks as that was my favourite section but i knew the chances that i would be were slim, but i was!!!!!! It was another amazing week, made even more amazing thanks to James and him letting me feed the Tapirs AND the red foxes on my birthday! And my parents and brother came into the zoo on my birthday too so they got to see all of this and meet James, it was the best birthday i have ever had! I also got trusted to jet spray the outside Tapir enclosure and their pool which apparently work experience and volunteers are never allowed to do so i must have proved myself!!

Week six - 
This week i was back on Small Mammals!! I got to do pretty much everything i had got to do during my first week but i got trusted and held responsible to do much more on my own this week which was brilliant! The highlight of my week was getting to help worm some of the meerkats, i learnt alot about how to disguise medicine in food and how it was hard to make sure that the right meerkats got the right amount of de-wormer and stuff like that, it was a good experience! 

Week seven - 
I was not looking forward to this week at all as i was either going to be on farmyard or birds, my two least favourite sections. But i was shocked to discover that i was actually going to be spending my week on primates!!! I must have really proved myself! I got to work with gibbons, slothes, armadillos, squirrel monkeys (my favourite animals of the section), lemurs and all sorts of smaller monkey species (terrible with remembering species names)  !!! It is a very relaxed section to work on and i got to spend a lot more time with the animals themselves. Especially Louise the black lemur who is my joint favourite with the squirrel monkeys! Before i was on primates i loved them but thought i would never actually want to work with them but these week completely changed my view on that!

Week eight - 
My last week :'( The first two days i was on primates again which i was ecstatic about!! It was just as good as the week before and i couldn't think of a better way to spend my last week, until i walked in on Wednesday morning and saw i had been but on reptiles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never been so happy and excited in my life!!! This really was my dream come true!! I was on reptiles for the rest of the week and i learnt so much, i know so much more now about reptiles and how to look after them and i definately know that is what i want to do with my life (although i would like to work with everything else too) they are what i want to specialise in! I even got to feed their chinese alligator which was the highlight of my whole time at Paradise! I love how much i was trusted on reptiles as well, even know i don't have much experience with reptiles they let me feed and clean many of their reptiles alone and they also let me do the reptile encounters on my own and it was amazing, truly the best time of my life <3 

Grass Snakes and Slow Worms!

Close up of the first ever wild grass snake I have seen!

My first ever face to face sighting of a wild grass snake.

A slow worm - Not only my first ever sighting of one but also the first time I'd ever handled one!!

Both are amazing creatures, so impressed!! Sightings are thanks to Jozef Stodulski!!

Saving Amur Leopards!

AMUR LEOPARDS NEED SAVING!!!

Fewer than 35 Amur Leopards remain in the wild, they are the worlds most endangered cat and seriously need our help!

There are adverts on the telly pleading for people to help and the WWF and working tirelessly to get as many people to donate money in order to save these beautiful creatures. The main reasons for them becoming so endangered is due to logging, forest fires and clearing of land to be used for farming; so as this is all humans doing do you not think we owe them something back by trying to save them!?

They are one of the worlds many most elusive but amazing creatures and there is so much more we can learn from them if we ensure them the future they deserve, would it not be a shame to let them die due to our own selfishness?

You can find out more and help to save the Amur Leopards by visiting the WWF website, you could make a huge difference even by doing the smallest things such as donating a small amount or even by just spreading the word as i am. You could save an Amur Leopards life and therefore provide the whole species with a future!

There is not much time left so ACT NOW.

Sun Bear

Scientific name - Helarctos Malayanus.

Where are they found - Primarily found in the tropical rainforests of South East Asia.

Size - They are the smallest member of the bear family standing at approximately 4ft (1.2m) in length and weighing less that 145lbs (65kg). Males also tend to be slightly larger than females in this species. 

Hibernation - Sun Bears do not hibernate so they can reproduce all year round and can have 1-2 cubs per year.

What they eat - They are also known as Honey Bears because of how much they love honey. They're omnivores so they will eat a wide variety of foods but they mainly eat invertebrates and fruits.

Predators - Sun Bears have few predators, other than humans. They are classed as vulnerable due to a recent decline in their population caused by the hunting of 'nuisance bears' that destroy crops and the widespread poaching driven by a market for their fur and their bile which is used in Chinese medicine. 

Sun Bears are sometimes captured or bred to be domestic pets; a role of which they are considered desirable, due to their relatively inoffensive nature and small size in comparison to other bears.

Unlike other bears, Sun Bears have short and sleek fur due to the lowland climates they inhabit. Dark/black fur covers the bears body, except on the chest where there is a pale orange/yellow marking in the shape of a horseshoe and similar coloured fur around its muzzle and eyes. This is what gives the Sun Bear its name.

THE FIRST-TIME NATURALIST Book Review

THE FIRST-TIME NATURALIST

Amazing book written by Nick Baker, a must read for anyone interested in the natural world! Its like a bible for people who want to go into a naturalist related career!! Everything from equipment needed, to how to track animals and identify them, experiments and things you can observe, how to build things such as a bird box and worm enclosure, and other things too!!! RECOMMENDED. 

Planet Earth Live

If anyone has not watched Planet Earth Live then they should start watching it now!! The first episode is one BBC iPlayer and the others are on over the next three weeks, also go to www.bbc.co.uk/planetearthlive for all the latest! AMAZING!!!

Mother Croc

Mother Croc - No animal is heartless

Mother Croc was a programme on NG Wild about Nile Crocodiles as mothers; it shows you how they are not cold-blooded heartless killers but dedicated, loving mothers who will do all sorts to protect their babies. It was filmed in Tanzania, Africa and not only tells the story of mother crocodiles but also shows some amazing footage not only of crocodiles but also of other African wildlife such as cheetahs and hippopotamus! It really is a must see!!

Crocodiles will gorge on food before June in order to build up fat reserves for the drought, this usually involves them eating animals such as zebras. In June, the rivers dry up and the crocodiles tend to only eat fish, this is also around the time that they tend to mate and lay their eggs. They can lay as many as 60 eggs at a time! They tend to build nests across the river bed and will usually nest next to other nesting females; if they nest away from the others then their eggs are a lot less likely to survive. Females will then guard their nests for around the next 3 months normally without eating and never leaving it for very long! The biggest danger to the Nile Crocodiles eggs is the Nile Monitor; throughout the incubation period of the eggs the mother crocodile will constantly be harassed by this creature. The only reason a mother crocodile will leave its egg is so that it can return to the water or seek out some shade to cool down, without doing this the animal will lose all of its energy and therefore not be able to protect the eggs. Another reason for them to leave the nest is that if they nest on their own away from the others it will be very hard for them to keep the nest secluded and if it gets invaded they may retreat. Crocodile eggs need moisture but if there is too much then the embryos can drown so crocodiles are very careful about where they build their nests. 30 degrees celcius is the perfect temperature for the eggs to mature but the mothers can't stay in the sun at this temperature for more than ten minutes. The temperature also determines the sex of the eggs; cooler temperatures produce more females and warmer temperatures produce more males. October is roughly when the eggs start to hatch; they call out to their mothers who then dig them up, place them gently in their mouths and carry them down to the river. The eggs normally hatch within hours of each other so the mother is likely to be doing this all day or night. Due to crocodile mothers commonly nesting so near to each other they can sometimes become confused as to which nest is who's and so this can cause conflict but in the end, for their babies, crocodiles will often team up to raise the young they are fighting over in order to give them a better chance of survival! The mothers will then care for their offspring for months after they have hatched so that their babies have the best chance!

A certain type of African bird also pays an important role in assisting this process because they actually lay their own eggs around where the crocodiles are nesting and they then help to scare away the Nile Monitors in return for the crocodiles to protect them from other predators such as hippopotamus. The birds eggs even hatch the same time as the crocodiles eggs so that they get to leave the banks of the river when the crocodiles do!

As you can see, you gain a lot of information from programmes like these and I think they are truly amazing! They show an whole new side to animals that so many people are scared of and they help people to relate to them. I really do think that programmes like this are going to be a massive help with conservation efforts of certain species and that they could even save whole species of animals in the future! How could you still hate an animal that is so dedicated to its future and its babies!? 

Mother Croc Programme

Mother Croc programme on tonight on NGW at 8pm!

Going to be reviewing it later this week!

Save the Tigers!

All species of Tiger are either extinct or seriously endangered. The main reasons for this are due to people hunting them for their pelt (skin and fur), for their meat and also for their body parts which can be used in local medicines. They are also endangered due to increasing habitat loss. In all, there are fewer than 2000 Bengal Tigers left in the wild, and fewer than 500 Siberian/Amur Tigers, Malayan Tigers, Sumatran Tigers and Indochinese Tigers left in the wild. Other species of Tiger are thought to be extinct such as the South China which although there are still roughly 50 Tigers in captivity, none have been sighted in the wild for many years.

Due to people constantly destroying more and more of prime Tiger habitat, we are putting more and more pressure on them to survive, and they aren't going to go down without a fight. This is why they are getting an increasingly bad name due to them having more and more run ins with people and most of these leading to the death of either the person or the tiger. Whenever a Tiger is killed by a person people don't pay much attention, but as soon as a person is killed by a Tiger there is uproar and it simply isn't fair. They are trying to survive and protect their own just as we do and we need to understand that. We should protect and respect these animals, not try to wipe them off the face of the Earth! Just imagine how you would feel if you were one of those Tigers.

Each of these types of Tiger bring a different thing to the world and they are all very important. The Sumatran Tiger is the smallest but has the largest canine teeth and the Siberian Tiger is the largest. Overall the Tiger is the largest big cat species in the world and we can't lose these magnificent creatures due to our own selfishness! We need to all start doing things now, before it is too late.

To help save the Tigers there is a number of things you can do; you can donate to an organisation such as the WWF or 'adopt a Tiger'. You can support the laws and bans that are put in place to stop the killing of Tigers by signing petitions and things. You can support zoos which participate in Tiger conservation and research and you can even volunteer yourself in these zoos or even abroad to help to save the Tigers!

We need to take action before it is too late.

Evolution of Behaviour and Influencing Factors in Dogs

Evolution of Behaviour and Influencing Factors

In this report I am going to be explaining the evolutionary development of behaviour in dogs and discussing how internal and external factors can influence these behaviours. All dogs descended from wolves around 135,000 years ago; the domestic dog emerged through selective breeding, and there are some breeds which are much more closely related to wolves than other breeds are. Due to all of the selective breeding and human influences this has caused the behaviour of dogs to change dramatically compared to its ancestors, wolves behaviour.

The link between environment and behaviour -

First of all I’m going to talk about morphological adaptations which are how an animal has changed to suit the changing environment gradually, over a period of time. As the dogs have become more adapted to the human environment some species have lost most of their predatory instincts and no species of domesticated dog has the predatory drive of a wolf anymore. Over time they have also become a lot more docile and affectionate than wolves. Other differences in their behaviours due to the environment are the domestic dog’s excessive need to scent mark, a difference in fighting styles due to domestic dogs becoming adapted to having to fight alone whereas wolves are pack animals, the domestic dog’s acceptance and tolerance to strangers etc. Dogs have also adapted to bark and communicate much more frequently than wolves as wolves do not bark.

Another way in which a domestic dogs environment has changed from that of a wolf is the competition for resources; dogs do not have to compete for food or territory etc. anymore because humans provide them with everything they need, whereas wolves compete for everything. This has caused a massive change in the independence of the dog, wolves are becoming more and more intelligent and independent as time goes on and the evolution of the domestic dog is doing the complete opposite. Their brains have become smaller compared to the wolves because they do not need/ use their senses  as acutely because they are human commanded whereas wolves are becoming more and more skilled in these areas because they need these senses to survive. Wolves are also more independent in the sense of solving their own problems because during the domestication process dogs have suffered a reduction in their intellectual capacity because they do not need to think as much for themselves anymore.

Heredity of behaviour -

The next thing that I am going to talk about the heredity of behaviour. This is how behaviours have been passed on in genes even as dogs and wolves have evolved. This is mainly instinctive behaviours in domestic dogs which have been passed down in the genes from wolves; one example is the pack instinct. This is evident when you have more than one dog in your home, one of the dogs will be in control of the other/others for example controlling who can drink or eat first and being able to stop the other dogs playing in an instant. This is a behaviour that is commonly shown in wolf packs and is known as the hierarchy; also the leader is not necessarily the oldest or biggest. There is only so much an owner can do to try and change heredity behaviour.

Another example of a dog behaviour which has been passed on in genes from the wolf is a dogs search for freedom. Dogs can escape the most secure of gardens; can jump over fences and digs holes under them. This is because like a wolf they like to be able to run free and they associate this with being safe. This can also explain why some dogs rebel against leads and things because they don’t like the feeling of being restricted and their instinct is to fight it.

Sex is also a hereditary behaviour because there is an ingrown sense in all dogs to reproduce and establish a future for its breed. This can be seen in domestic dogs when they mark their territory with urine as you take them for walks and around the garden because this is to let other males know that you’re the alpha male in the area and to let other dogs of the opposite sex know that they’re willing to mate.

Another good example of hereditary behaviour which has been passed down from the wolf in the dog’s genes is a dog’s instinct to guard and steal food. This comes from when dogs used to be in the wild and they had to hunt and protect their own food otherwise they would starve because they could never guarantee when the next meal would be.

The last example of a hereditary behaviour in dogs is the ability to swim. This has been passed on in the genes because it is in a dog’s instinct to survive and being able to swim gives them a big advantage in escaping from other predators etc. 

Internal factors influencing behaviour –

One internal factor which influences behaviour is hormones; this is less so in domestic dogs than it is in wolves because people tend to interfere and reduce the hormones in their dogs so that they are calmer and easier to handle. Examples of behaviours caused by hormones are scent marking mainly in male dogs and false pregnancies in female dogs.

Another internal behaviour which affects behaviour is illness or pain. If a dog or wolf is in physical pain they both tend to act overly aggressive; this is to keep other animals and people away from them because they are vulnerable. One difference that has occurred between wolves and dogs when they’re in physical pain is that domestic dogs are a lot more vocal about it and will howl and cry and try and alert humans that they are in pain whereas wolves would most likely try and get on with it. Also if a dog or wolf has a disease some of the symptoms could be changes in behaviour such as brain tumours will cause a dog or wolf to change its temperament and it can also cause a dog to walk in circles a lot and to sleep a lot or be very active.

Fear can also cause a dog or a wolf to behave in a certain way. It can cause both to become a lot more aggressive towards what they are fearful of. One difference between dogs and wolves in this aspect is that dogs are more likely to hide and cower from fear, sometimes behind their owner whereas wolves are a lot less likely to run away.

Another internal factor that affects behaviour is stress. Wolves are more use to certain types of stress than dogs and vice versa. Most domestic dogs have become use to being confined spaces whereas if you were to put a wolf in this situation it would probably become increasingly aggressive, pace a lot and not eat etc. Both dogs and wolves become stressed when they feel threatened which can cause them to run or to become extremely aggressive.

External factors influencing behaviour –

One external factor which affects the behaviour of both dogs and wolves is the presence of other animals. This can cause different reactions in both dogs and wolves but it can also cause similar behaviours. In the presence of another dog, a dog’s behaviour would change because the dog may become defensive, they could become aggressive (especially if it was two males) and if it was a female in season then a male may be affectionate towards her or try and mate with her. This is the same for when wolves meet other wolves. One difference which shows how dogs have evolved is that sometimes a domestic dog will be fearful of other dogs and see humans as their family and protection whereas this never happens with wolves because their family is their own kind. Dogs behaviour can also change when they encounter other types of animal; dogs are much more likely to except other animals such as cats, rabbits or birds and see them as companions whereas wolves will see these animals as prey or competition and so will be aggressive towards them and their will be constant conflict. Domestic dogs easily adapt and learn to accept other animals whereas wolves are unlikely to ever be able to do that because they have to be so competitive to survive.

Seasons can also affect a dogs behaviour, for example in winter most domestic dogs have evolved to grow a thick coat of fur and then to shed it in the summer. This changes their behaviour because this means that they can be active all year round whereas with wolves such as the grey wolf which has thick fur are only active during the winter, in the summer they become irritated and sleep and spend more time in the shade. This also applies for different breeds of dog because some dogs have been selectively bred to have very short, fine fur and others have been bred to have long, thick fur. Seasons can also affect a dogs behaviour because of breeding, in the breeding seasons females come into heat and males are looking for a mate and so therefore scent mark more etc. This applies for both wolves and dogs but less so for domestic dogs now due to human interference.

Another external factor which can affect dog behaviour is daylight. Domestic dogs are a lot more active during the daytime because they have evolved to be awake when humans are awake and to sleep when we sleep. On the other hand wolves are most active at dusk and at night because this is the best time for them to hunt because they can hide easily and be more camouflaged.

Weather can affect a dog’s behaviour because wolves survive outside and so they can deal with extreme weather conditions and are used to them whereas domestic dogs are mostly indoor animals. They can be especially fearful of stormy weather such as thunder and lightning and this can cause them to become aggressive or to hide.

Lastly, humans can affect dog and wolf behaviour but in completely opposite ways. Wolves are fearful or humans and tend to stay away from them most of the time but can also be aggressive towards us because they see us as an enemy. On the other hand domestic dogs see humans as their friends, protectors and leaders and they are a lot friendlier towards us and accept us.

Overall, dog behaviour has evolved massively compared to wolves now; there are many distinct differences between the two. Some of this is good such as how domestic dogs trust humans now and some of it can be seen as bad for example how their brain has shrunk compared to the wolves. Even though dogs have evolved they still have their instinctive behaviours from their wolf ancestors which have survived through generations of selective breeding. This is the reason we know that dogs have evolved from wolves.