Scent rubbing

A bobcat (Lynx rufus) near a scent rubbing post. Bobcats display cheek rubbing to scent mark in the wild.[1]

Scent rubbing is a behavior where a mammal rubs its body against an object in their environment, sometimes in ones covered with strongly odored substances. It is typically shown in carnivores, although many mammals exhibit this behavior. Lowering shoulders, collapsing the forelegs, pushing forward and rubbing the chin, temples, neck, or back is how this act is performed. A variety of different odors can elicit this behavior including feces, vomit, fresh or decaying meat, insecticide, urine, repellent, ashes, human food and so on.[2][3] Scent rubbing can be produced by an animal smelling novel odors, which include manufactured smells such as perfume or motor oil and carnivore smells including feces and food smells.[2]

Scent rubbing is often performed with scent marking and self-anointing, and is typically used by animals to scent mark an object in their surroundings. This marking can be used as a means of communication between species.[4][5] Many different species of felids, monkeys, bears, wolves and marmots have primarily been used to study scent rubbing in carnivores.[6][7][8] Differences in gender and age exist for scent rubbing, with adults and males performing the behavior more frequently than juveniles and females in many species.[9][10][4][8][6]

  1. ^ Crowley, Shannon M.; Hodder, Dexter P. (2017-07-27). "An assessment of the efficacy of rub stations for detection and abundance surveys of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Zoology. 95 (11): 885–890. doi:10.1139/cjz-2017-0040. hdl:1807/78969. ISSN 0008-4301.
  2. ^ a b Ryon, Jenny; Fentress, J. C.; Harrington, F. H.; Bragdon, Susan (1986). "Scent rubbing in wolves (Canis lupus): The effect of novelty". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 64 (3): 573–577. doi:10.1139/z86-084.
  3. ^ Gosling, L. Morris; McKay, Helen V. (1990). "Scent-rubbing and status signalling by male mammals". Chemoecology. 1 (3–4): 92–95. Bibcode:1990Checo...1...92G. doi:10.1007/BF01241649. S2CID 10906767.
  4. ^ a b Soso, Simone; Koziel, Jacek; Johnson, Anna; Lee, Young; Fairbanks, W. (2014). "Analytical Methods for Chemical and Sensory Characterization of Scent-Markings in Large Wild Mammals: A Review". Sensors. 14 (3): 4428–4465. Bibcode:2014Senso..14.4428S. doi:10.3390/s140304428. PMC 4003951. PMID 24603639.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Campbell, Christina J. (2000-07-01). "Fur rubbing behavior in free-ranging black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Panama". American Journal of Primatology. 51 (3): 205–208. doi:10.1002/1098-2345(200007)51:3<205::aid-ajp5>3.0.co;2-l. ISSN 1098-2345. PMID 10902669. S2CID 15743221.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Allen, Maximilian L.; Wittmer, Heiko U.; Wilmers, Christopher C. (2014-01-01). "Puma communication behaviours: understanding functional use and variation among sex and age classes". Behaviour. 151 (6): 819–840. doi:10.1163/1568539x-00003173. ISSN 1568-539X.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).