Cognitive and Intellectual Behavior of a Wolf (Canis lupus L.): Barriers Preventing Consuming the Elk (Alces alces) Population by a Predator

Abstract—

Behavior is an important component of animal life. Two forms of behavior are considered in the article: cognitive (genetically fixed) and intellectual (acquired as an adaptation to the environment). A scientific novelty of the study consists in the interpretation of these forms using the example of nest-building, territorial, and foraging behavior of the families in the wolf population group. A conservatism of the cognitive behavior and plasticity of the intellectual behavior (which together provide a high vitality and stability of wolf populations in the biogeocenosis) were demonstrated. As a result of comparative analysis, it was established that, with an increase in the contacts between wolf and elk (Central Forest Biosphere Reserve) and wolf and deer (Yellowstone National Park and southwestern Montana), changes in behavior occurred in the prey. In elks, this was manifested in increased alertness, which made it difficult for the wolf to approach the prey at a distance for a successful attack, and the deer left feeding places and preferred safer habitats with better visibility for wolf detection; these are the consequences of the activation of a natural caution reflex. An increased alertness or vigilance was a barrier against the consumption of prey by a predator. But the wolf also cannot change the genetically fixed process of killing the prey by changing the hunting strategy: moving from a short-term pursuit in the case of an unsuccessful attack to a long one.