i know with domesticated pets they’ve gotten used to a certain place as home, but with wild animals like lions and giraffes, do they have a spot that they consider “home” after they’ve gone hunting or do they keep travelling forever like nomads?
like what about birds? they migrate every so often, do they “come back” or do they just keep travelling onto the next new place?
just curious :))
In: Biology
Even animals that move around a lot like lions will make temporary dens that they go back to. Often they will repeatedly go back to the same ones year after year if they find that particular area quite suitable.
And of course many animals will make more permanent dens. We cannot say exactly what is going on in their heads but that does seem to be as close to the concept of home as one can get.
Totaly depends on the animal. Many animals have a territory, i would claim thats something like a home. Wolves, lions and so on have that.
Salmon returns back to the river they grew up in.
Migrating birds normaly return to the same general area, they dont keep the old nests.
lol, it depends. Some animals are territorial, they stay at in one area, often even defend this area against other animals of their kind and have hiding- and sleeping places like pets at home, other animals move around. First it depends on the species, and sometimes even individuals of a species practice one and other the other behavior (e.g. the common bottlenose dolphin).
With lions, home is kinda where ever you decide to lay down with the pride. They move with their food and have few predators to hide from. If there’s little lion cubs they will establish many little “homes” for them while they hunt as they move to their prey seasonally.
Giraffes also move for food. They’re kinda like horses in that they often sleep standing up and are more or less always on the move. Most of the large herbivores are like this: rather than having a safe place to go at night, they move as a herd and rely on numbers and being alert instead.
Lots of other animals do have permanent shelters and make burrows/nests/dens/etc. Migratory birds will establish a nest each year to raise young. Some may be lucky enough to re-use last year’s next site again but sometimes the spot gets taken by something else.
Yeah, it all depends on the animal. Many build nests or dens. Other have a home range they stay within.
5 years ago we put out bird feeders and attracted a pair of Cardinals. They built a nest nearby and had chicks. The following year they came back again and their male offspring also showed up with his own new friend. So two pairs nested in our yard that year. This year we have at least 8 pair of Cardinals. The original pair still nest in the same tree every year.
Foxes, badgers, rabbits etc who have their burrows and dens treat them as “home”, even if temporary.
Mammals often/usually scent-mark things as they go about their business. They build up more scent in areas they frequent. Lots of other animal groups use visual clues for their location. Birds have iron bearing tissue in their heads that act as magnetic compasses.
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