Function of Tongue-Playing of Cattle in Association With Other Behavioral and Physiological Characteristics
To study the function of tongue-playing of cattle, this study observed 71 Japanese Black x Holstein steers after feeding in 2 repetitive experiments. The number of steers who performed tongue-playing did not differ among the 3 levels of environmentally enriched pens. Most (90.6%) performances of tongue-playing terminated within 20 min. Frequency of tongue-playing positively correlated […]
The effect of increasing dietary fibre on feeding, rumination and oral stereotypies in captive giraffes (Giraffa Camelopardalis)
Many captive giraffes perform oral stereotypies, in particular tongue-playing, licking of objects (including conspecifics) and vacuum chewing. Typically, the diet of these large ruminants in captivity consists mostly of food concentrates, which are consumed rapidly and do not provide stimulation for their long, prehensile tongues. In the wild, browsing requires extensive use of this organ […]