Observing behavior is fascinating! Why do they perform that behavior? What is going on in their heads when they are doing that? What are the consequences? These are some of the immediate questions that arise when one observes a peculiar behavior. A similar observation piqued my interest when I saw something in Sikkim, India during my field work in 2017: Wrestling Himalayan Marmots!
These giant furry rodents were a lifer* for me! The two young ones with their mother, stepped out of their burrow, which was just below the rock. The young siblings, just near their burrow, got on two feet and started measuring each other by putting their hands on the each other’s shoulders. They first hugged, and started doing an extravagant “wrestling dance” where they arched backwards and swayed asynchronously to each other’s sides. Their heads were pointed towards the sky during this interaction. After about 5 minutes, the situation mellowed down, although with a bit of pushing and fur tugging. Then came the most unexpected moment- The kiss!
So why do they wrestle? What is the advantage of wrestling? The answer is territoriality! Adult male Himalayan marmots engage in a much more (compared to this account) aggressive wrestling to assert dominance! The dominant male has a territory with better quality food and shelter. If that is the case, why are young ones fighting here? Well, ideally for practice and social bonding. The young ones practice wrestling with their siblings to perfect it. Its similar to us practicing a musical instrument from childhood to get better at it. These interactions also increase social bond between the siblings.
I was lucky to observe this very common behavior the first time I observed this beautiful animal. Animal behaviors are varied and amazingly interesting, if you ask the above questions. Next time when you come across an animal, take a couple of minutes to see what they are up to!
Interested in knowing more? Check out this cool paper describing the same behavior in Yellow billed Marmots by Blumstein et al, 2013 (https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0485).
*Fun fact: The term ‘lifer’ (very commonly used term) in Indian English is used when someone observes a particular flora/fauna for the first time in their life.
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