List of abnormal behaviours in animals explained

Abnormal behaviour in animals can be defined in several ways. Statistically, abnormal is when the occurrence, frequency or intensity of a behaviour varies statistically significantly, either more or less, from the normal value. This means that theoretically, almost any behaviour could become abnormal in an individual. Less formally, 'abnormal' includes any activity judged to be outside the normal behaviour pattern for animals of that particular class or age.[1] [2] For example, infanticide may be a normal behaviour and regularly observed in one species, however, in another species it might be normal but becomes 'abnormal' if it reaches a high frequency, or in another species it is rarely observed, and any incidence is considered 'abnormal'. This list does not include one-time behaviours performed by individual animals that might be considered abnormal for that individual, unless these are performed repeatedly by other individuals in the species and are recognised as part of the ethogram of that species.

Most abnormal behaviours can be categorised collectively (e.g., eliminative, ingestive, stereotypies), however, many abnormal behaviours fall debatedly into several of these categories and categorisation is therefore not attempted in this list. Some abnormal behaviours may be related to environmental conditions (e.g. captive housing) whereas others may be due to medical conditions. The list does not include behaviours in animals that are genetically modified to express abnormal behaviour (e.g. reeler mice).

List

various types.[3] [4]
a condition where animals exercise excessively while simultaneously reducing their food intake.[5]
an activity reliably accompanying another response that has been produced by a stimulus, especially when the stimulus is presented according to a temporally defined schedule.[6]
eating the flesh or internal organs of another animal of the same species.[8]
laying an abnormal number of infertile eggs, or clutches of eggs in the absence of a mate, to the detriment of a bird's health. Particularly common in pet parrots.[9]
eating faeces.[10]
grabbing a solid object such as a fence with the incisors, arching the neck, pulling against the object, and sucking in air.[11]
behaviours associated with a state of low mood and aversion to activity.[12]
vocalising more frequently than expected.[13]
aggressive acts that are more frequent or of greater intensity than expected.[14]
excessive licking of the floor, wall or other environmental features.[17]
a transient loss of consciousness and postural tone, characterized by rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery.[18]
one bird repeatedly pecking or pulling at the feathers of another.[19]
commercial egg-laying hens losing their feathers due to the deliberate removal of food and water for several days.[21]
eating soil or sand.[10]
eating plant material by an animal that is considered to usually be meat-eating.[22]
killing of young offspring by a mature animal of its own species.[23]
failing to respond even though there are opportunities for the animal to help itself by avoiding unpleasant circumstances or by gaining positive rewards.[24]
eating wood.[10]
a specific, unnecessary action or series of actions that is repeated more often than would normally be expected.[25]
chewing or eating bones.[10]
eating materials other than normal food.[26]
excessive drinking.[27]
overt aggression directed to newborn offspring by a mother animal, often including cannibalistic infanticide.[28]
an animal injuring its own body tissues.[31]
dustbathing in the absence of appropriate substrate.[32]
stereotypies of equines, especially horses.[33]
repeated, relatively invariant behaviours with no apparent purpose (multiple types).[34]
behaviours associated with being exposed to a stressor (e.g. loss of appetite, social withdrawal).[35]
chewing stones or rocks without swallowing them.[36]
biting or chewing the tail of another animal.[37]
an animal chasing its own tail in circles.[38]
one bird pecking the toes of another.[39]
an animal pulling out its own fur, hair or wool, often followed by eating it.[40]
drinking urine.[10]
innate, fixed action patterns of behaviour performed in the absence of the external stimuli that normally elicit them.[41]
injurious pecking directed to the cloaca, the surrounding skin and underlying tissue.[42]
repeatedly rocking backwards and forwards, or from side to side.[43] [44]
use of substances for medicinal effect (rather than Recreational drug use in animals or for food)
similar to cribbing, whereby the horse arches its neck and sucks air into the windpipe, but without needing to grab a solid object.[45]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Abnormal behaviour. April 6, 2013.
  2. 2015 . Corrine K. Lutz . Priscilla C. Williams . R. Mark Sharp . Abnormal Behavior and Associated Risk Factors in Captive Baboons . American Journal of Primatology . 76 . 4 . 355–361 . 10.1002/ajp.22239 . 24323406. 4346173 .
  3. Book: Bill Wayne Pickett. E. L. Squires. James L. Voss. Normal and abnormal sexual behavior of the equine male. 1981. Animal Reproduction Laboratory, Colorado State University, 1981..
  4. McDonnell . S.M. . 1992 . Normal and abnormal sexual vehaviour . Vet Clinics of North America: Equine Practice . 8 . 1. 71–89 . 10.1016/s0749-0739(17)30467-4. 1576555 . free .
  5. Hampstead . B.M. . LaBounty . L.P. . Hurd . C. . 2003 . Multiple exposures to activity anorexia in rats: Effects on eating, weight loss, and wheel running . Behavioural Processes . 61 . 3. 159–166 . 10.1016/s0376-6357(02)00188-2 . 12642171. 28250067 .
  6. Robert . S. . Matte . J.J. . Farmer . C. . Girard . C.L. . Martineau . G.P. . 1993 . High-fibre diets for sows: Effects on stereotypies and adjunctive drinking . Applied Animal Behaviour Science . 37 . 4. 297–309 . 10.1016/0168-1591(93)90119-a.
  7. Garner . J.P. . Weisker . S.M. . Dufour . B. . Mench . J.A. . 2004 . Barbering (fur and whisker trimming) by laboratory mice as a model of human trichotillomania and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders . Comparative Medicine . 54 . 2. 216–24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003543/http://www.dietvet-holistic.hu/download/ChR_2008/garner.cm.barberingepidemiology.pdf . 2013-12-03 . 15134369 .
  8. McGlone, J.J., Sells, J., Harris, S. and Hurst, R.J. Cannibalism in growing pigs: Effects of tail docking and housing system on behavior, performance and immune function.Texas Tech Univ. Agric. Sci. Tech. Rep. No. T-5-283 http://www.depts.ttu.edu/liru_afs/pdf/CANNIBALISMINGROWINGPIGS.pdf
  9. Web site: Rick . Axelson, DVM . Chronic Egg Laying in Birds . VCA Hospitals . 29 December 2020.
  10. Web site: Pica behavior in horses. April 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130503140441/http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/pica.html. May 3, 2013.
  11. Malamed . R. . Berger . J. . Bain . M. J. . Kass . P. . Spier . S.J. . 2010 . Retrospective evaluation of crib-biting and windsucking behaviours and owner-perceived behavioural traits as risk factors for colic in horses . Equine Veterinary Journal . 42 . 8. 686–92 . 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00096.x . 21039797.
  12. Kalueff . A. V. . Tuohimaa . P. . 2004 . Experimental modeling of anxiety and depression . Acta Neurobiology . 64 . 4. 439–448 . 15586660 .
  13. Web site: Excessive barking. Posage, J.M. . Marder, A. . amp. PetPlace.com. April 5, 2013.
  14. Reinhardt . V. . Reinhardt . A. . Eisele . S. . Houser . D. . Wolf . J. . 1987 . Control of excessive aggressive disturbance in a heterogeneous troop of rhesus monkeys . Applied Animal Behaviour Science . 18 . 3–4. 371–377 . 10.1016/0168-1591(87)90231-0.
  15. Web site: Increased urination and thirst in cats. petMD. April 5, 2013.
  16. Web site: Submissive urination in dogs. April 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130416075156/http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/suburine.html. April 16, 2013.
  17. Web site: Behavioural profiles of domestic animals - horses. Blackshaw, J.K.. March 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120317172417/http://animalbehaviour.net/JudithKBlackshaw/Chapter3a.htm. March 17, 2012.
  18. Web site: Why fainting goats do what they do. Sponenberg, D.P.. .
  19. Huber-Eicher . B. . Sebo . F. . 2001 . The prevalence of feather pecking and development in commercial flocks of laying hens . Applied Animal Behaviour Science . 74 . 3. 223–231 . 10.1016/s0168-1591(01)00173-3.
  20. Johannes . T. . Lumeij . J.T. . Hommers . C.J. . 2008 . Foraging 'enrichment' as treatment for Pterotillomania . Applied Animal Behaviour Science . 111 . 1–2 . 85–94 . 10.1016/j.applanim.2007.05.015.
  21. Molino . A.B. . Garcia . E.A. . Berto . D.A. . Pelícia . K. . Silva . A.P. . Vercese . F. . 2009 . The effects of alternative forced-molting methods on the performance and egg quality of commercial layers . Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science . 11 . 2. 109–113 . 10.1590/s1516-635x2009000200006. free . 11449/14340 . free .
  22. Web site: Herbivorous house cats. Cooper, M.. April 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120903114125/http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/catplanteating.html. September 3, 2012.
  23. Hausfater, G. and Hrdy, S.B., (1984). Infanticide: Comparative and evolutionary perspectives New York, Aldine.
  24. Seligman . M.E.P. . 1972 . Learned helplessness . Annual Review of Medicine . 23 . 1. 407–412 . 10.1146/annurev.me.23.020172.002203 . 4566487 .
  25. Korff . S. . Harvey . B.H. . 2006 . Animal models of obsessive-compulsive disorder: rationale to understanding psychobiology and pharmacology . Psychiatr. Clin. North Am. . 29 . 2. 371–390 . 10.1016/j.psc.2006.02.007. 16650714 .
  26. Web site: Pica in dogs. Speilman, B.. PetPlace.com. April 6, 2013.
  27. Hamm . R.J. . Porter . J.H. . Kaempf . G.L. . 1981 . Stimulus generalization of schedule-induced polydipsia . Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. 36 . 1. 93–99 . 10.1901/jeab.1981.36-93. 16812235 . 1333055 .
  28. Web site: Savaging of piglets: A puzzle of maternal behaviour.. Harris, M.. Gonyou, H.. Bergeron, R.. Li, Y.. amp. 2001. April 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150131091037/http://www.prairieswine.com/pdf/1852.pdf. January 31, 2015.
  29. Libbon. Randi. Hamalian. Gareen. Yager. Joel. Self-Cannibalism (Autosarcophagy) in Psychosis. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 203. 2. 152–153. 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000252. 2015. 25629666. 31155850.
  30. Joffre. Carine. Djavaheri-Mergny. Mojgan. Pattingre. Sophie. Giuriato. Sylvie. 2017-03-01. L'autophagie: le yin et le yang des cancers. Médecine/Sciences. fr. 33. 3. 328–334. 10.1051/medsci/20173303021. 28367821. 0767-0974. free.
  31. Baker, K., Bloomsmith, M., Griffis, C. and Gierhart, M., (2003). Self injurious behavior and response to human interaction as enrichment in rhesus macaques" American Journal of Primatology 60 (Suppl. 1): 94-95.
  32. Olsson . I.A.S. . Keeling . L.J. . Duncan . I.J.H. . 2002 . Why do hens sham dustbathe when they have litter? . Applied Animal Behaviour Science . 76 . 53–64 . 10.1016/s0168-1591(01)00181-2.
  33. Horse behavior and stable vices. Christie, J.C.. 2008. Regents of the University of Minnesota. April 6, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130930173147/http://www1.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/horse-behavior-and-stable-vices/. September 30, 2013.
  34. Mason . G.J. . 1991 . Stereotypies: A critical review . Animal Behaviour . 41 . 6. 1015–1037 . 10.1016/s0003-3472(05)80640-2. 10214/4622 . 53187334 . free .
  35. 10.1080/15299730802073619 . Bradshaw, G.A. . Grow, G. . Capaldo, T. . Lindner, L. . amp . Building an inner sanctuary: complex PTSD in chimpanzees . Journal of Trauma & Dissociation . 9 . 1 . 9–34 . 2008 . 19042307 . 12632717 .
  36. Web site: Stone-chewing. Marchant-Forde, J.. USDA. 2007. April 7, 2013.
  37. Schrøder-Petersen, D.L. . Simonsen H.B. . 2001 . Tail biting in pigs . Veterinary Journal . 162 . 3 . 196–210 . 10.1053/tvjl.2001.0605 . 11681870.
  38. Web site: Tail chasing in dogs. April 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130322030658/http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/tailchase.html. March 22, 2013.
  39. Krause E.T., Petow, S. and Kjaer J.B., (2011). A note on the physiological and behavioural consequences of cannibalistic toe pecking in laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus). Archiv für Geflugelkunde, 75: 140-143
  40. Reinhardt . V . 2005 . Hair pulling: A review . Laboratory Animals . 39 . 4. 361–369 . 10.1258/002367705774286448 . 16197702 . 1596649 . free .
  41. Web site: Vacuum, displacement, and redirected activities.. Dewey, R.A.. 2007. April 5, 2013.
  42. Sherwin, C.M., (2010). The welfare and ethical assessment of housing for egg production. In The Welfare of Domestic Fowl and Other Captive Birds, I.J.H. Duncan and P. Hawkins (eds), Springer, pp. 237-258
  43. Elzanowski . A. . Sergiel . A. . 2006 . Stereotypic behavior of a female Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) in a zoo . https://www.webcitation.org/6XaherFFH?url=http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/127_jaws09034.pdf . 2015-04-06 . Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science . 9 . 3 . 223–232 . 10.1207/s15327604jaws0903_4 . 17112333 . 24392365 . 2013-04-09 .
  44. Stereotypical Behaviors in Chimpanzees Rescued from the African Bushmeat and Pet Trade . 25379223 . 2012 . Stacy M. Lopresti-Goodman, Marjanne Kameka, Ashlynn Dube. Behavioral Sciences. 3 . 1 . 1–20 . 10.3390/bs3010001 . 4217614 . free .
  45. Malamed . R. . Berger . J. . Bain . M.J. . Kass . P . Spier . S.J . November 2010 . Retrospective evaluation of crib-biting and windsucking behaviours and owner-perceived behavioural traits as risk factors for colic in horses . Equine Veterinary Journal . 42 . 686–92 . 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00096.x . 21039797 . 8.
  46. Web site: Animal behavior consultation . 2013-04-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150222200627/http://salamatvet.com/behaviorconsulting.htm . 2015-02-22 .

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