BODY LANGUAGE AS A TOOL TO COMMUNICATE

[Dennis]

(04-25-2020, 02:04 AM)OncaAtrox Wrote:

(04-25-2020, 01:59 AM)Amnon242 Wrote:

(04-25-2020, 01:51 AM)OncaAtrox Wrote:

(04-25-2020, 01:45 AM)Amnon242 Wrote: What do you think about this situation? Is the tiger afraid of the lion? Or does he find him annoying but not really dangerous? Or anything else? 

My opinion is that it is not scared but definitely submissive, the lion is clearly more aggressive and dominant. They're in a horrible small enclosure so it makes sense they will be frustrated.

Why do you think that the tiger is submissive? What I see is that the tiger easily repelled the attack of the lion. Then he walks across the enclosure in a confident way...while the lion is aggressive, but rather nervous than dominant. See 0:33 - the lion tried another attack, but gave it up when he saw that the tiger is ready. Then the tiger lay down, obviously wanted to have a rest, the lion did not respect that so the tiger chased him away. 

Thats what I see.

The tiger lowers its head and sticks to the ground which is typical submissive behavior. I didn't see the lion as nervous but rather frustrated and stressed which then translated to aggression.

Lowering the head and body is far from submission actually, its more of a defensive position. These cats after all, don't live together, they also didn't grow up together and totally don't live in captivity where they have no real reason to fight.

Quote:"Leyhausen also indicated that aggression in felids is more regulated by effective defenses than responsive to the submission signals that are quite effective in reducing intra-group fighting in many canid species, such as wolves and dogs. By selecting animals and arranging situations, Leyhausen was able to polarize attack and defensive behaviors in domesticated cat subjects, or, alternatively, to maximize attack motivations for both combatants. In a highly polarized attack-defend situation, the attacker stands tall and advances directly toward the victim while emitting low growls. The defending animal crouches down, or, with a mixture of aggressive and fearful motives, may assume the classic “Halloween cat” stance with arched back, and erected hairs. As the attacker approaches contact, the defending animal may assume a contorted posture, half on its back but facing the other cat, enabling both fore- and hindpaws to be drawn up and opposed to the oncoming attacker. This stance conceals the nape, the major target site for intraspecific offensive attack. Both fore- and hindpaws may lash out at the attacker and disembowelment of the attacker is possible, particularly if it attempts to reach over to bite at the partly supine defender's nape. However, when both animals are highly motivated to attack, a frontal approach is typically utilized by both, resulting in animals facing each other and delivering forepaw blows largely toward the head and neck of the other."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814555/


On house cats.

Quote:Threats and aggression can be either offensive or defensive. An offensively aggressive cat tries to make himself look bigger and more intimidating, whereas a defensively aggressive cat adopts a self-protective posture and tries to make himself look smaller. The following are typical postures seen in feline aggression. A rule of thumb is to not touch, attempt to reassure, or punish cats showing these postures!"

"Offensive postures include:

• A stiff, straight-legged upright stance
• Stiffened rear legs, with the rear end raised and the back sloped downward toward the head
• Tail is stiff and lowered or held straight down to the ground
• Direct stare
• Upright ears, with the backs rotated slightly forward
• Piloerection (hackles up), i
  

• ncluding fur on the tail
• Constricted pupils
• Directly facing opponent, possibly moving toward him
• Might be growling, howling or yowling
  

Defensive postures include:

• Crouching
• Head tucked in
• Tail curved around the body and tucked in
• Eyes wide open with pupils partially or fully dilated
• Ears flattened sideways or backward on the head
• Piloerection (hackles up)
• In an anxious cat, whiskers might be retracted. In a fearful cat, whiskers might pan out and forward to assess distance between himself and the danger
• Turning sideways to the opponent, not straight on
• Open-mouthed hissing or spitting
• Might deliver quick strikes with front paws, claws out
  

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/...ssion-cats


I bet you would say this tiger is submitting to the humans too.

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