Circadian variations in foraging and resting/standing activity patterns of stray street cattle of urban Sambalpur, Odisha, India

ABSTRACT

In Indian cities, you are likely to find cows/cattle on the streets eating castoffs from kitchens, restaurants and vegetable markets. They contribute to strewn trash, spread of disease, traffic congestion, and occurrence of road accidents. In this study, we examined circadian variations in foraging and resting/standing activities of stray cattle on the streets. We also estimated the population of these cattle, using the Lincoln index. We used single Cosinor rhythmometry to analyze time series data on different variables. It was discovered that the maximum number of street cattle rested on the streets around 21.7 h with a spread of about 9 h starting at 17.2 h in the evening. These cattle were found to be engaged in foraging activities with a peak located at 9.4 h in the late morning hours. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on circadian rhythms in the foraging, and resting/standing behavior of stray street cattle. We recommend that more intensive investigation should be carried out to understand the underlying causes of this problem and to find out an effective solution, which would be beneficial both to the street cattle and the citizens of cities inflicted with cattle menace.

KEYWORDS:

• Street cow
• stray cow
• circadian rhythm
• foraging
• resting/standing activity

Acknowledgments

The authors are obliged to the Head of the Department, School of Zoology, Gangadhar Meher University, Amruta Vihar, Sambalpur – 768 004, Odisha, India for support and encouragement.

Author contribution

SA took the pictures of street cows, recorded videos, monitored their behavior and collected primary data.

RKS and HKN analyzed data and made preliminary interpretation.

AKP designed the study, interpreted the findings and wrote the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work is a part of the Master of Philosophy program assigned to one of the authors (SA). The authors did not receive any financial support from any extra-mural funding agency, except the routine facilities that were extended to the authors by the Gangadhar Meher University, Amruta Vihar, Sambalpur 768004, Odisha, India.