Coping in Animal Behavior

Date: August 5, 2022

How to cite: Barata, R. (2022). Coping in Animal Behavior. Human-Animal Science.

Coping is a behavioral response to aversive situations that induce physiological stress reactions. Evolutionarily, aversive situations will likely reduce fitness if the animal fails to cope (Broom, 1991). The success of the coping behavior can be measured by its effectiveness in reducing physiological measures of stress or by its effectiveness in removing an aversive situation and thus restoring fitness.

Coping is an exciting concept in animal science and an individual’s possible adaptive response strategies to stimuli, including the behavior plasticity topic.

Coping strategies in animals, such as dogs, cats, and horses, vary greatly and are tailored to their unique environmental challenges and biological needs. These strategies can be broadly categorized as either problem-focused or emotion-focused.

Dogs

Dogs exhibit a range of coping behaviors that can be both problem-focused and emotion-focused.

Problem-focused coping: This involves taking direct action to remove or evade the stressor. For example, if a dog is uncomfortable with a stranger entering the home, it may cope by retreating to a safe space or barking to assert territory and distance the stranger.
Emotion-focused coping: When a stressor cannot be directly confronted, dogs may engage in behaviors that reduce emotional distress. This can include displacement behaviors like licking or grooming themselves or engaging in play to distract from the stressor.

Cats

Cats are known for their independent nature and often employ unique coping mechanisms.

Problem-focused coping: A cat may exhibit problem-solving behaviors when faced with an obstacle, such as figuring out how to reach a high perch to escape from a perceived threat or opening a door to find a quiet hiding place.
Emotion-focused coping: Cats might cope with stress by withdrawing and hiding or by purring, which has been suggested not only as a sign of contentment but also as a self-soothing behavior during moments of distress.

Horses

As prey animals, horses have evolved coping behaviors emphasizing safety and flight.

Problem-focused coping: Flight is the most apparent coping strategy. When faced with a threat, a horse’s primary response is to run away. In a managed setting, horses might cope with confinement stress by walking or trotting around the perimeter of their enclosure.
Emotion-focused coping: Horses may engage in mutual grooming with conspecifics, which is believed to be a stress-relieving activity. They might also chew on wood or other objects, known as stereotypic behaviors, which can indicate an attempt to cope with environmental stress.

Behavioral Plasticity

Behavioral plasticity is the ability of an animal to modify its behavior when faced with new conditions. Each species and individual may have different capacities for this plasticity.

Dogs: For example, a rescue dog may learn that not all humans are threats and may adjust its coping strategies from avoidance to seeking human companionship.
Cats: A feral cat might adapt to human presence by reducing its flight distance over time and coping with stress by slowly engaging with humans on its terms.
Horses: A horse may learn that the sound of a feed truck does not indicate danger, and thus, instead of running away (flight response), it approaches the sound in anticipation of food.

The effectiveness of coping behaviors is measured by the animal’s return to the physiological baseline and by observable behaviors indicating a stress reduction.

If you are interested, explore the nine schemes created by Donald Broom and Kenneth Johnson (1993). I’ll give you their introductions so you have a starting point.

In the face of stimuli, an internal steady-state is maintained with ordinary basal responses. The state of being is very well.
Complete adaptation was achieved with a minor extraordinary response. Stimuli provoke adaptation. Fitness and performance may be briefly compromised, but wellness promptly returns.
Sometimes, animal response to stimuli over time is neither extraordinary nor adequate. For so long as the impingement continues, fitness and performance may be reduced, and minor stress and fairness ensue, but after that, wellness returns.
Stimuli elicit some minor extraordinary responses, but over time this is inadequate for complete adaptation. Both fitness and performance decrease for a while (fairness), after which wellness returns. Stress is present in schemes four and above.
An animal’s extraordinary response over a long period achieves only incomplete adaptation. Although fitness remains relatively high, performance is reduced. The animal experiences overall fair-being.
To completely adapt, an animal sometimes must mount an extreme response. During adaptation and recovery periods, fitness and performance decline. The animal is only fair.
Despite some extraordinary responses to stimuli, complete adaptation is not achieved long term. Fitness and performance decline; the animal becomes ill.
In some cases, an extreme response does not result in complete adaptation, even long term, reducing the ill animal’s fitness and performance.
An environmental stimulus may be so enormous and swift that the animal succumbs before it can respond.

References

Broom, D.M. (1991). Assessing welfare and suffering. Behav. Proc., 25: 117-123.

Broom, D.M., Johnson, K.G. (1993). Stress and Animal Welfare. Kluwer Academic Publishing: Amsterdam.