Perception of the human disturbance by ungulates in the wild and in the captivity

The relationship between ungulates and humans has been evolving ever since the first predator's interaction with the prey, leading to the current domestication. The behavior of ungulates differs based on the human disturbance. The goal of this thesis was to compare the reactivity to humans of selected species in nature vs. in captivity and determine its correlation, inter or intraspecific. The thesis indicates reactivity to humans of specific species of ungulates (donkeys, horses, reindeers and goats). Following reactions were chosen for comparison: vigilance, alert distance, flight and avoidance distance. There are several acting factors like previous experience with humans, habituation, group size or season. With group size, the vigilance decreased, which was proven with donkeys, reindeers and goats. The behavior differed based on the season by resources availability, offspring's presence in herd (higher vigilance) or rut (lower vigilance). In captivity, there were less human contact avoidance, while the experimenter was known. Based on researches, ungulates tend to avoid humans more in nature, than in captivity. Sources claim, that among chosen ungulates, the most vigilant in both nature and captivity are reindeers. Further researches could later consider the human perception according to the..