Animal behaviour and research into attitudes on animal testing.

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BEHAVIOUR IN ANIMALS AND HUMANS

Introduction

Animal behaviour is the behaviour of animals when they respond to their surrounding environment. Ethology is the study of animal behaviour. Animals' behaviour is essential to how they survive and continue their kind.

Instinctive

Instinctive behaviour is natural and is not learned. It's inherited from the animal's parents and therefore the animal has instinctive behaviour embedded into its body from birth. For example, pipefish know instantly how to hunt for food when they're born. It can be a simple reflex or it can be a courtship practice which is much more complicated. The stimulus which triggers instinctive responses doesn't necessarily have to be in the surround environment (outside the body); it can also be inside the body. One example of this is the human knee-jerk reflex. The tapping of the tendon results in a sudden contraction in the quadriceps which brings the lower leg forward. Instinctive behaviour can prevent injury. For instance, if there is fire near an animal it will instinctively move away, even though it may have not seen it before. Instinctive behaviour is important as it eliminates the thinking time and prevents injury much quicker than it