by Lynn Schwalbe-Larson

Created on: October 01, 2007

Animal behavior is a source of fascination for many people, all the way from the career zoologist, to the pet owner. This topic has generated many studies, exploring the social networks and cooperation of different species, comparing colonies of bees to ants and also trying to figure out how animals of the same species recognize each other.

Animals and humans share the same basic senses of smell, touch, sight and sound. With animals, these five senses are heightened beyond what we are capable of. The fact that some raptors can spot a mouse on the ground two miles away as they fly, or that birds can see more colors than we can, is amazing and fuels the desire to know more about the creatures who share our world. Can they tell each other apart? If two herds of sheep mingled, would they be able to tell who their herd mates are? How do mother bats find their baby among all the other babies who, to our eyes, look exactly alike?

SCENT

Scent is the most common sense animals use to recognize who is who. All the way from moths to sheep and frogs to cats, scent plays a major role with how these animals are able to tell friend from foe, kin from intruder. If you are a pet owner, you can observe this behavior in your own home. If you own more than one animal, for example two cats, watch how they interact.

Each cat has its own unique scent. Glands that secrete this scent are located on the cat's body, including the paw pads, the top of the head, the cheeks and their anal area. Cats will greet each other by touching noses, then move on to sniffing the head and anal area to confirm who the other cat is.

Dogs too have their own scent and smell to establish who is who, sniffing around each other's bodies. Dogs also use sight to first look and decide if it is a dog they are looking at and then sniff to find out if they know each other.

Another animal that has been thoroughly studied are mice. Mice use scent as well, but studies have shown that their memory regarding who has which smell is limited, lasting only about an hour. Therefore it is very important that they are social with their group, interacting to refresh their memories of each other's scent.

The mother bat looking for her baby knows the baby's special smell, as well as its voice. The baby also recognizes her by smell, and knows who to cling to and nurse.

Another form of scent is called pheromones, a chemical signal that travels between members of the same species. Moths and fish use this form of communication and recognition.

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