Different species visit or exploit cavities for survival or reproduction, including human-made boxes. Ants and Paridae from mainland southern France share artificial boxes at different life-history stages. Colonies of the ant Crematogaster scutellaris occasionally prevent Paridae from roosting or breeding in boxes and therefore might influence nest-site selection in avian cavity-nesters. Factors that influence coexistence or avoidance in bird-ant interactions in the Mediterranean region are discussed.

Predators use various tactics to find and depredate bird nests. This study examines a possible tactic of visually orientated predators termed “delayed nest-visit”. This consists in remembering the positions of incubating parents and subsequent easy depredation of eggs when the parents are away from their nests. Conditions for use of this tactic were experimentally simulated by installing artificial nests with quail eggs and plastic dummies of northern lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) at 11 actual breeding grounds with various habitat conditions in southern and eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Habitat, presence of the dummy, and their interaction significantly affected nest survival. While 17.2 % of the nests baited with the dummy were depredated, this occurred in only 6.9 % of the nests without the dummy. This depredation rate was affected by the visibility of the dummies in particular habitats. The results suggest that predators may remember the nest position to delay their first visit to a previously located bird nest from a remote place and may use this tactic to easily capture the clutches. The use of this tactic showed that at least some predator species are able to apply much more sophisticated approaches in search of birds' nests than previously assumed.

Little is known about the biology of Indian pangolins (Manis crassicaudata) both in captivity and wild. Nandankanan Zoological Park, India (NKZP) is maintaining Indian pangolin in captivity since last 50 years (1962–2013). The housing, husbandry and behavioural observations that have contributed to successful upkeep and breeding of Indian pangolins at NKZP are described in the present paper. The successful maintenance and breeding of this elusive nocturnal species indicate that it can survive in captivity with application of established care techniques. The species can be maintained more successfully in captivity with provisions for their unique biological and behavioural needs.

Group scan sampling and focal animal sampling was used to evaluate the relationship between the vigilance and group size of Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) from July to August 2012 around Lake Dalai, Inner Mongolia, China. We recorded 348 groups, including 107 mixed groups, 54 male groups, and 187 female groups with juveniles. The total number of individuals observed was 2026, including 4 solitary males, and the group average size was 5.76 individuals. The index of the models for curve fitting revealed that the power model Y = 2291.40^-0.821 (R² = 0.846, P = 0.013, Y = vigilance distance and X = group size) was the best-fit model to represent the relationship between vigilance distance and group size. The cubic model Y = 108.1 - 16.95X 1.09X² - 0.023X³ (R² = 0.826, P = 0.019, Y = vigilance rate and X = group size) was the best-fit model to represent the relationship between vigilance rate and group size. While, the logarithmic model Y = 35.84 - 6.26lnX (R² = 0.792, P = 0.024, Y = vigilance time and X = group size) was the best-fit model to represent the relationship between individual vigilance time and group size. Results indicate that vigilance rate, individual vigilance time, and vigilance distance of Mongolian gazelle decreased significantly with increasing group size. Our research provides data on Mongolian gazelles' vigilance and which will further benefit gazelle conservation.

European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a widely distributed species with a multiple role in both environmental sustainability and local economy. In the current study we examine the body condition of the species in relation to habitat type, age, sex and seasonality on the island of Lemnos. Body condition was assessed based on a visual estimation of the amount of abdominal fat. A high intra-annual variation in the body condition of the species has been observed, which is further affected by sex and age. The species appears to conserve and maintain high levels of energy reserves for two main reasons. The first is to ensure a better reproductive success, as expressed by the relatively high amount of stored fat reserves at the onset of breeding season, and their depletion during it. The second is to ensure survival during periods where the shortage of food creates a rather hostile environment, as expressed by the increased level of reserves during summer and their dramatic decrease from late summer until autumn. The temporal fluctuation in energy reserves differs between male and female rabbits, reflecting their temporally different energy demands. Further, differences in body conditions were observed between juvenile and adult individuals, reflecting their different needs in terms of body growth and maintenance. Our results could offer important insights for the development of a time specific management plan and measures to ensure either the control of the population or its conservation.

Diet, carcass weight (dressed weight) and kidney fat index (KFI) in wild boar populations were compared between two different lowland environments in south-western Poland. In the forest-farmland environment of the Lasy Śląskie forest (LS), fodder root crops and cereals made up 67.6 % of the dry weight (d.w.) of stomach content (n = 40). In the large compact forest of the Bory Dolnośląskie forest (BD), 69.6 % of the stomach content (n = 43) was made up of roots and browse. Piglets and older animals harvested in BD were significantly lighter than those harvested in LS (13.6 kg vs. 25.6 kg and 47.3 kg vs. 55.9 kg respectively). The KFI of piglets and older animals harvested in LS were significantly higher than those in corresponding age classes of wild boars from BD. The metabolized energy of stomach content amounted to 13.2 MJ/kg d.w. in LS and 8.9 MJ/kg d.w. in BD. This is probably the chief cause of the differences in carcass weight and KFI between the wild boars living in the compared study areas.

The sika deer (Cervus nippon) is native to Japan and East Asia and has been introduced almost worldwide. Despite the wide distribution of the species, only few studies on its home range in non-native areas have been conducted. We focused on home range size and its seasonal and spatial dynamics in an introduced sika deer population in the Doupovské hory Mts., north-western Czech Republic. The mean home range size, obtained from ten subadult and adult males, was 3620 ha using the minimum convex polygon method, 1163 ha using the Brownian bridges method, and 819 ha using kernel estimation. The mean intra-individual home range overlap from month to month was about 72 %, but decreased to 28 % when calculated for three-month periods. The unusually large home range sizes observed can be explained by a relatively low population density of the sika deer in the study area and possibly by the non-territorial mating strategy of males. The high values of seasonal home range overlap together with the time series of the monthly home range maps indicate some positional shifts but do not support presence of seasonal migration.

The study of activity patterns in subterranean mammals has been poorly explored in subterranean insectivores. This is especially true for the rare and elusive blind mole Talpa caeca. A field work devoted to collect data on life history traits of the blind mole was run in a montane pasture in Southern Italy (1549 m a.s.l.). Plastic barrel-like traps were placed in actively used mole tunnels and checked regularly at 6 h intervals for two sessions of nine consecutive days, for a total 1500 trap-nights. No moles were captured alive, but signs of mole activity at trap sites (traps filled with ground) were regularly recorded. A video recorded inside a trap confirmed that moles fill the traps with soil as part of trap avoidance behavior. Activity at trap sites was analyzed as a binomial variable, considering the rate of filled traps vs. the number of armed traps at each 6 h trap-checking intervals. Activity showed a polyphasic pattern typical of moles, but differently from other species, activity was more concentrated in the central part of the day (12.00–18.00). Results suggest a specific adaptation to local environmental conditions and body size.

Our research examined the time of conception of fallow deer in the DALERD South Plains Forestry Private Limited Company's Gyulai Forestry Area. We collected data from pregnant females who had been shot in the hunting season. At the time of evisceration the uterus was removed and dissected; and sex and body weight of embryos were recorded. We were able to collect and analyze 149 samples for our study. Based on the sex and body weight of embryos, we calculated the fertilization date for each animal within our sample group. There were no significant statistical differences found between mean fertilization dates of adult does and yearlings (t = -0.72, p = 0.47). The mean fertilization date of does (with a gestation period of 231.5 days) was October 25^th (SD = 13.82, n = 120); whereas, for yearlings this date was October 24^th (SD = 12.97; n = 29). Based on embryonic development, results showed that in the population we examined, 2 % of females were impregnated in December, 1.3 % in September (at the end of September), 24.2 % in November and the majority, 72.5 % were fertilized in October.

Scent marking is a widespread component of mammal communication and important in the maintenance of territories as a form of status signal advertising territorial ownership, and potential source of information on the quality and competitive ability of the signaller. Marking behaviour with preorbital glands is a common research topic for tropical antelopes, while such behaviour in goitered gazelles, until now, has been poorly understood. We investigated this behaviour in goitered gazelles and found that adult males marked with their preorbital glands all year round, but especially intensively during the rut and most often while patrolling their territories and chasing females; rarely did they mark during territorial conflicts. Adult males preferred to mark the most conspicuous eatable shrubs that reached close to the height of the male. With a few minor exceptions, goitered gazelle performed marking behaviours in a manner similar to other antelope species, and overall did not show any distinctive differences. Preorbital marking behaviour as an essential part of social organization demonstrated its conservatism, but environmental factors also had their impacts, which led to considerable quantitative seasonal fluctuations in marking behaviour.