Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Imprinting

Imprinting

Behavioral imprinting is observed in some newborn animals and occurs when they develop strong and specific attachments to another animal (usually a parent) following brief, early-life exposures. Offspring imprint onto parents within a brief period after birth or hatching; this time window is called the critical period. Once imprinting occurs, the bond established between the parents and their offspring is usually long-lasting.

Attachment

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...

Cloning of Dolly the Sheep

Cloning of Dolly the Sheep

The first successfully cloned mammal was Dolly, a sheep, born on 5th July 1996 at Roslin Institute, Scotland. The cloned sheep was named after the American singer Dolly Parton. Dolly lived for seven years and died of respiratory complications, which is speculated to be due to the actual age of her DNA. Because the DNA in cloned cells belongs to an older individual, the cloned individual’s life expectancy may be affected. Indeed, analysis of Dolly’s DNA revealed shorter...

Parental Care

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Animal board invited review: Intrinsic hedonic value, complexity and possibility for action as essential characteristics of a welfare-friendly environment for animals.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2026

Same author

Impacts of digestibility stalls on the welfare of growing bulls.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2025

Same author

Cow factors to address when performing avoidance distance tests at the feeding rack.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2025

Same author

Review: Rethinking environmental enrichment as providing opportunities to acquire information.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2024

Same author

Improvement of the Welfare Quality scoring model for dairy cows to fit experts' opinion.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2023

Same author

Opinion paper: Increasing the economic value of male calves from dairy herds to avoid poor animal welfare.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2023

Same journal

Sex and brain maturation underlie the attribution of incentive salience to conditioned stimuli in Wistar rats.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Shining a light on jellyfish behaviour: Enhanced motor activity and positive phototaxis in Aurelia coerulea.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Detour-task performance in color polymorphic male mosquitofish.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Behavioral and physiological changes during the estrous cycle of socially housed female guinea pigs.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Flexible time-series analysis: A dynamically aware method for inferring directed dependencies in behavioral data.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Effects of group size and landmarks on escape behavior of three fish species.

Behavioural processes·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

In Vivo Real-Time Study of Drug Effects on Carotid Blood Flow in the Ovine Fetus

In Vivo Real-Time Study of Drug Effects on Carotid Blood Flow in the Ovine Fetus

Published on: April 28, 2023

Decrease in cow-calf attachment after weaning.

I Veissier¹, P Le Neindre¹, J P Garel²

¹Laboratoire de l'Elevage Bovin, INRA Theix, 63122 Ceyrat France.

Behavioural Processes

|June 14, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Suckler calves remained attracted to their dams for over three weeks post-weaning. However, dams began rejecting calves from day 20, while calf-calf attraction increased.

More Related Videos

Milk Collection in the Rat Using Capillary Tubes and Estimation of Milk Fat Content by Creamatocrit

Milk Collection in the Rat Using Capillary Tubes and Estimation of Milk Fat Content by Creamatocrit

Published on: December 16, 2015

Bovine Mammary Gland Biopsy Techniques

Bovine Mammary Gland Biopsy Techniques

Published on: December 23, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 28, 2026

In Vivo Real-Time Study of Drug Effects on Carotid Blood Flow in the Ovine Fetus

In Vivo Real-Time Study of Drug Effects on Carotid Blood Flow in the Ovine Fetus

Published on: April 28, 2023

Milk Collection in the Rat Using Capillary Tubes and Estimation of Milk Fat Content by Creamatocrit

Milk Collection in the Rat Using Capillary Tubes and Estimation of Milk Fat Content by Creamatocrit

Published on: December 16, 2015

Bovine Mammary Gland Biopsy Techniques

Bovine Mammary Gland Biopsy Techniques

Published on: December 23, 2018

Area of Science:

Animal behavior
Reproductive science
Veterinary medicine

Background:

Abrupt weaning is a common practice in suckler beef production.
Understanding the post-weaning social dynamics between dams and calves is crucial for animal welfare.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the duration of dam-calf attraction after abrupt weaning.
To assess changes in social preferences of calves and dams post-weaning.

Main Methods:

Calves were housed in a pen allowing proximity to dams or familiar conspecifics.
Social preference tests were conducted at multiple time points after weaning.
Reunion periods allowed observation of dam-calf interactions.

Main Results:

Calves showed a preference for their dams over other cows up to 24 days post-weaning.
Calf preference for dams decreased significantly after day 24.
Dams began rejecting calves from suckling as early as day 20.
Attraction between calves increased post-weaning.

Conclusions:

Calf attraction to dams persists for at least three weeks post-weaning.
Dams exhibit rejection behaviors towards calves earlier than calves cease seeking their dams.
Weaning alters social dynamics, increasing calf-calf affiliation.