Postconflict behaviour of captive female Himalayan tahr

Social animals have evolved behavioural strategies to cope with the inevitable conflicts associated with group living. In this study, we examined the postconflict behaviour of Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) to evaluate the relative prevalence of aggressive and affiliative interactions involving the former opponents and other group members. Although renewed aggression was the most common behaviour following a conflict, tahr also showed an increase in the rate of affiliative interactions between former opponents (reconciliation). Victims of aggression also showed an increase in the rate of scratching and selfgrooming, two common displacement activities that can be used as indicators of an anxiety-like emotional state. Contrary to expectations, reconciliation did not affect either renewed aggression or postconflict anxiety. These results add to the relatively scant literature on the conflict management strategies of nonprimate species and contribute to our understanding of the understudied complexities of the social life of ungulates.