Scientists make lions friendlier by using ‘Love Hormone’
Lions are a herd species, but in reality, male lions are quite lonely, because they always have to protect their territory alone, so their personalities are quite aggressive and will react quickly. fiercely when there are strange lions approaching.
Although their drastic response is well suited to the need to live in the wild, scientists see it as a challenge to study and eliminate for lions living in the reserve or in naturally controlled captivity.
Recently, a group of researchers shared part of their work with lions in a wildlife reserve in Dinokeng, South Africa, they found that with a certain dose of ” “love hormone” oxytocin through the nose, the lions here will become gentler, less aggressive, accordingly their encounters or contact with strange lions will also become more peaceful. and less life-threatening.
Jessica Burkhart, first author of the paper and expert in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota, USA, said: “I’ve always loved lions. I joined the study because I was tired of testing animal brains in the lab and wanted to study them in real life.“.
The researchers reported that 23 lions given this method seemed to immediately show signs of calming down and generally became more tolerant and less aggressive towards other lions.
Burkhart reported saying: “You can see that their aggressive features seem to disappear in an instant, they go from wrinkled and aggressive faces to this completely calm demeanor.“.
To provide data on the drug’s effectiveness, the team brought in a favorite toy for the lions to play with. Usually, lions will keep a distance of about 7 meters from each other, even if there is a pumpkin to lure them. However, when the lions were given oxytocin they tended to come closer together, now they are only 3.5 meters apart.
However, when there is food, love seems to disappear completely. Even when used “Love Hormone”, the lions still show aggression when intruders get too close to their meal.
Trying to make the lions living in the area closer to each other is not only beneficial in cases of captivity. With growing populations, lions are often moved to fenced reserves from their original territories. Therefore, it becomes easier and more frequent for unfamiliar lions to meet each other.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: genk.vn – Read the original article here