Maintain-Proximity

Individuals Orienting-Toward, Backing-Toward, Walking, Waiting, Walk-Waiting or moving in such a way as to maintain a certain comfortable or safe distance to another individual or individuals. This behavior may be observed by all age/sex groups with different ages and sexes involved in different contexts. For example, during Courtship context a Consorting pair will jointly attempt to maintain close proximity to one another.

During Guarding a musth male takes the lead in Maintaining-Proximity to the estrous female he is Guarding. An estrous female who is Soliciting-Guarding takes the lead in Maintaining-Proximity to her preferred mate. In a Calf Reassurance & Protection context adult, adolescent and juvenile females take responsibility for Maintaining-Proximity to infants, while, generally, older calves take more of the responsibility of Maintaining-Proximity to their mothers and other care-takers. In a Movement Space & Leadership context, members of a family take a larger role in Maintaining-Proximity to their matriarch. The same applies in all male groups in which, generally, younger animals pay attention to the location and movement of their elders, following their lead.

References: Poole 1982; Poole 1989b. (Full reference list)

This behavioral constellation includes the following behaviors: Back-Toward, Look-Back, Orient-Toward, Waiting, Walk-Wait, Walk-Toward, Walk-Away and occurs in the following context(s): Calf Reassurance & Protection, Courtship, Movement, Space & Leadership