The Social Behavior of Older Animals

Couverture
JHU Press, 2 févr. 2009 - 225 pages

How do young and old social animals view each other? Are aged animals perceived by others as weaker? Or wiser? What is the relationship between age and power among social animals?

Taking a cue from Frans de Waal’s seminal work examining the lives of chimpanzees, Anne Innis Dagg in this pioneering study probes the lives of older mammals and birds. Synthesizing the available scientific research and anecdotal evidence, she explores how aging affects the lives and behavior of animals ranging from elk to elephants and gulls to gorillas, examining such topics as longevity; how others in a group view senior members in regard to leadership, wisdom, and teaching; mating success; interactions with mates and offspring; how aging affects dominance; changes in aggressive behavior and adaptability; and death and dying.

At once instructive and compelling, this theme-spanning book reveals the complex nature of maturity in scores of social species and shows that animal behavior often displays the same diversity we find in ourselves.

 

Pages sélectionnées

Table des matières

Introduction
1
1 Evolutionary Matters
10
2 Sociality Media and Variability
19
3 The Wisdom of Elders
29
4 Leaders
38
5 Teaching and Learning
50
6 Reproduction
60
7 Successful Subordinates
72
11 MotheringGood and Not So Good
111
12 Grandmothers
122
13 Sexy Seniors
134
14 Their Own Person
147
15 Adapting and Not Adapting
155
16 All Passion Spent
167
17 The Inevitable End
184
Notes
195

8 The Fall of Titans
80
9 Aging of Captive Alphas
93
10 Happy Families
100
References
199
Index
217
Droits d'auteur

Autres éditions - Tout afficher

The Social Behavior of Older Animals
Anne Innis Dagg
Aperçu limité - 2009

Expressions et termes fréquents

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À propos de l'auteur (2009)

Anne Innis Dagg teaches in the Independent Studies program of the University of Waterloo. She is the author of over a dozen books, most recently “Love of Shopping” Is Not a Gene: Problems with Darwinian Psychology and Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950s Adventure.

Informations bibliographiques

TitreThe Social Behavior of Older Animals
AuteurAnne Innis Dagg
ÉditeurJHU Press, 2009
ISBN0801890500, 9780801890505
Longueur225 pages
  
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