Understanding Social Behavior and Dynamics of Four-horned Antelope in Captivity

The Four-horned Antelope, a typically shy, elusive, and solitary species, is found throughout India, excluding the coastal regions, and is housed in 26 zoos across the country. Despite this, there is a scarcity of studies on their social behavior, leading to a knowledge gap in conservation strategies and captive breeding program management. Our study, conducted at Sardar Patel Zoological Park, focused on the social behaviors and group composition of 14 Four-horned Antelopes (1 male, 7 females, 6 fawns) housed in a mixed-herbivore enclosure with Spotted Deer, Thamin Deer, Barking Deer, and Himalayan Goral. Contrary to their natural solitary behavior, our findings suggest that in captivity, Four horned Antelopes prefer to stay in groups and exhibit social behaviors.We observed daily activity patterns among the Four-horned Antelopes and found significant differences in the activities of males and females. Our study also revealed novel behaviors in Four-horned Antelopes, such as allonursing, allosuckling, head bunting, excitatory behaviors, and inter-specific grooming. These findings can contribute to the development of improved strategies for the conservation and management of Four-horned Antelopes in captivity.