Question

Study of animal behavior is
(a) Sociology
(b) Ethology
(c) Phonology
(d) Psychology

Answer 1

Hint: Animal Behaviour refers to their way of response during certain situations. The study of animal behavior is done with respect to their ability to survive and adapt in the wild state. It doesn’t relate to the way the animal thinks or it’s emotion, rather it focuses on the actions taken in response to the stimuli.

Complete answer:
Ethology is a Greek term - ethos means ‘character’ and logy means ‘study of’. It is described as the study of animal behavior and traits in their natural habitat. Ethology is important as a subject with respect to animal studies and animal- based product industries like the dairy industry, meat industry, wool industry, and many more. Studying the behavior of animals helps in maintaining health and animal welfare. Ethology includes types of behaviors such as feeding behavior of the animal, communication behavior, social behavior, sexual behavior, maternal behavior, etc. Konrad Lorenz, an Austrian zoologist, has been called the Father of Ethology. His experiment consisted of the study of genetic instincts in the young swan acquired by their caregiver.

Additional Information:
- Charles Darwin was also amongst the famous scientists who studied animal behavior.
- Some of the genetically acquired behavior is standing, running, eating, sucking milk, etc
- Some of the behaviors learned from the surrounding environment are - living in groups or herd, mating, fighting, etc.
- Ethology also has applications in dealing with Laboratory animals like rabbits, mice, hamsters, etc. used for research purposes.
- By studying ethology, the people dealing with animals like cows, goats, sheep, etc., will have knowledge about how the animal will react under a certain situation.
- This will help the people to accurately deal with animals during the breeding activities, also in feeding and treating the animals and for the management of farm animals.
So, the correct answer is ‘Ethology’.


Note: Konrad Lorenz gave the theory of ‘imprinting’ by his study on young swans. He observed carefully the bond between the young swans and their guardians. Guardian refers to any superior individual who guides the younger ones amongst their group. The younger swans learned to adjust and reorder their roles in the assigned groups by copying their superior swans.