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(File:Orange Tabby Cat Beside Fawn Short-coated Puppy-46024.jpeg|thumb|right|A cat demonstrating bunting behaviour on a dog.)File:Leopard_okavango_delta.jpg|thumb|A leopardleopardBunting is a form of animal behavior, often found in felids, in which the animal butts or rubs its head against other things, including people. Bunting as a behaviour can be viewed as a variation of scent rubbing.BOOK, Englar, Ryane E., Performing the Small Animal Physical Examination, 2017, John Wiley & Sons, 978-1-119-29531-0,weblink en, This is when an animal, typically a carnivore, will rub its back on a scent, such as that of prey, or on the urine of an animal of the same species. Evolutionarily speaking, scent rubbing is the oldest form of scent communication and bunting is a derivative of this behaviour.JOURNAL, Reiger, Ingo, Scent Rubbing in Carnivores, Carnivore, 1979, 2,weblink 11 March 2018, Rolling in the scent of another animal was an adaptation to camouflage the scent of a predator or outside male, in order to get closer to mates.BOOK, Fendt, Markus, Kiyokawa, Yasushi, Endres, Thomas, Scents that matter - from olfactory stimuli to genes, behaviors and beyond, 2016, Frontiers Media SA, 978-2-88919-813-9, 34,weblink en, Bunting is generally considered to be a form of territorial scent-marking behaviour, where the cat rubs the scent glands on its cheeks and forehead on the object being marked.WEB,weblink It's All Mine! Cat Marking, Explained, Elizabeth Wasserman, 22 September 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150923060259weblink">weblink 23 September 2015, dead, After a display of aggression, a cat will begin bunting nearby objects as a form of territorial display toward a rival cat.BOOK, Rodan, Ilona, Heath, Sarah, Feline Behavioral Health and Welfare - E-Book, 2015, Elsevier Health Sciences, 978-1-4557-7402-9, 31,weblink en, Bunting and allorubbing (using touch to communicate closeness) are also part of feral cat behavior within colonies. An elaborate ritual which can take several minutes, two cats will rub along the side and tail of the other cat.JOURNAL, Crowell-Davis, Sharon L., Curtis, Terry M., Knowles, Rebecca J., Social organization in the cat: a modern understanding, Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery, March 2004, 6, 1, 19–28, 10.1016/j.jfms.2003.09.013, 15123163, 25719922,weblink 2 April 2017, This behaviour in domestic cats involves a system of hierarchy and may have evolved as a way to channel aggression where the costs of a conflict is too high.JOURNAL, Bos, Ruud van den, The function of allogrooming in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus); a study in a group of cats living in confinement, Journal of Ethology, 1 March 1998, 16, 1, 1–13, 10.1007/BF02896348, 45045046, en, 0289-0771, Cats also use bunting as a way to familiarize themselves with their environment, and the pheromones released through this work to ease the cat's anxieties about an unfamiliar area.BOOK, Weiss, Emily, Mohan-Gibbons, Heather, Zawistowski, Stephen, Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff, 2015, John Wiley & Sons, 978-1-118-92283-5,weblink en, Bunting is a normal animal behavior, and should be distinguished from head pressing, which is abnormal and typically a sign of illness.BOOK, Gregory, Neville G., Physiology and Behaviour of Animal Suffering, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, 978-1-4051-7302-5, 107,weblink en,

Development

File:Snow Leopard Being Cute (16135561540).jpg|thumb|A snow leopardsnow leopardThe practice of bunting stems from the behaviour that arises when kittens are very young and seek stimulation from their mother by rubbing and kneading.BOOK, Rosenblatt, Jay, Advances in the Study of Behavior, 1980, Academic Press, 978-0-08-058271-9, 184,weblink en, This behaviour develops throughout the animal's life and is not only found in cats. It has also been found in other carnivorous mammals and some ungulates.JOURNAL, Geist, Valerius, The Behaviour of Ungulates and Its Relation to Management: The Papers of an International Symposium Held at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2-5 November 1971, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1974, 1,weblink en, Bunting in ungulates has no olfactory function but may have a role in the weaning of young. When a juvenile is nursing from its mother, it will bunt the udder with its head. This is to stimulate milk production or "let down" and causes some pain to the mother when the bunting movement is frequently performed.JOURNAL, Combellas, Jorge, Cow-calf relationship during milking and its effect on milk yield and calf live weight gain, Livestock Research for Rural Development, 2003, 15, 3,weblink Over time, there is an increase in the number of times the udder is bunted by the young. This causes the mother to react in an attempt to prevent further pain. This reaction of the mother can be any form of defensive behaviour from a nipping bite, moving away from the young, or a jab of her horns.JOURNAL, Keyserlingk, Marina, Weary, Daniel, Maternal behavior in cattle, 1 July 2007, 52,weblink Bunting in domesticated and wild cat species has olfactory roots and has a range of uses which include, but are not limited to, mother-young association bonds, greeting/welcoming of kin, diffusing potential aggression in social environments, and distributing scent on areas to cultivate familiarity.BOOK, Jensen, Per, The Ethology of Domestic Animals: An Introductory Text, 3rd Edition, 2017, CABI, 978-1-78639-165-0,weblink en,

Bunting in other species

Cattle

Bunting behaviour is a display of aggression in cattle. When two cattle are rivaling each other, they will often use bunting as a form of defense.BOOK, Keeling, J. L., Social Behavior in Farm Animals, 2001, CABI, 978-0-85199-717-9,weblink en, Cattle will attempt to bunt the rival animal with the goal of bunting its head under the hind legs of the other animal. This occurs when one animal shows submission during the final moments of a feud; this specific behavior is calling clinching.JOURNAL, McGlone, John J., Agonistic Behavior in Food Animals: Review of Research and Techniques, Journal of Animal Science, 1 April 1986, 62, 4, 1130–1139, 10.2527/jas1986.6241130x, 3519555,weblink en, 0021-8812, The behaviour of bunting within cattle is first observable in calves. As a form of play-fighting, a young calf will bunt the flank of its mother. A newborn calf will bunt the mother's udder and this stimulates milk flow. It has been found that when calves are taken from their mothers and raised artificially, the calf will attempt to bunt the artificial teat when milk is not being produced quickly enough.BOOK, Houpt, Katherine A., Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists, 2018, John Wiley & Sons, 978-1-119-23280-3,weblink 10 February 2018, en,

Horses

As seen in cattle, horse foals will bunt the mother's udder in order to stimulate milk production. Another example of bunting is when a dam experiences pain while a foal is suckling. The dam will proceed to bunt the foal with her head, non-aggressively, to prevent further discomfort. Many foals will play fight with one another; displaying the bunting behaviour. The foal will push its head against another foal's body in an attempt to knock the other off-balance.BOOK, McDonnell, Sue M., The Equid Ethogram: A Practical Field Guide to Horse Behavior, 2003, Eclipse Press, 978-1-58150-090-5, 295,weblink en, Horses will also rub the bottom or sides of their jaw onto others. This self-grooming social interaction can have a calming effect for the horses involved, and dominant horses are more likely to initiate the behavior.BOOK, Mills, D. S., McDonnell, S. M., The Domestic Horse: The Origins, Development and Management of Its Behaviour, 2005, Cambridge University Press, 978-0-521-89113-4, 89,weblink 11 February 2018, en,

Lions

(File:Africa-animal-big-carnivore-87410.jpeg|thumb|right|Lions display bunting as a form of greeting when met with other pride members.)Similarly to domesticated cats, lions also use bunting as a form of greeting and territorial marking. Lions will often greet each other with this head bunting behavior when returning to a pride after a hunt.BOOK, Schaller, George B., The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations, 2009, University of Chicago Press, 978-0-226-73660-0,weblink 11 February 2018, en, In the early stages of life, cubs procure stimulation from their mother as she cleans them by rubbing and licking them. This behaviour carries throughout their lives and bunting remains a primal source of interaction between adults as it stimulates a familiar interaction between kin.JOURNAL, Matoba, Tomoyuki, Kutsukake, Nobuyuki, Hasegawa, Toshikazu, Head Rubbing and Licking Reinforce Social Bonds in a Group of Captive African Lions, Panthera leo, PLOS ONE, 4 September 2013, 8, 9, e73044, 10.1371/journal.pone.0073044, 24023806, 3762833, 2013PLoSO...873044M, en, 1932-6203, free,

See also

• Cat communication
• Social grooming

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References

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