Oxytocin treatment can take lions from ferocious to friendly

Date:
March 30, 2022
Source:
Cell Press
Summary:
Lions typically aren't keen on making new friends. The giant
cats guard their territory fiercely and can mortally wound a
foe with a single swipe. While aggression is an advantage for
apex predators in the wild, it poses real challenges for lions on
reserves or in captivity, a number that is growing due to habitat
loss. Researchers working on a wildlife reserve in Dinokeng, South
Africa found that an intranasal application of the 'love hormone'
oxytocin could make lion meet-cutes less life- threatening.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Lions typically aren't keen on making new friends. The giant cats guard
their territory fiercely and can mortally wound a foe with a single
swipe. While aggression is an advantage for apex predators in the
wild, it poses real challenges for lions on reserves or in captivity,
a number that is growing due to habitat loss. Researchers working on
a wildlife reserve in Dinokeng, South Africa found that an intranasal application of the "love hormone" oxytocin could make lion meet-cutes less life-threatening. Their work appears March 30 in the journal iScience.


==========================================================================
In the summers of 2018 and 2019, a team led by animal biologist Craig
Packer and neuroscientist Sarah Heilbronner from the University of
Minnesota spent their days using hunks of raw meat to lure lions up to
a fence so they could spray oxytocin up their noses with a tool that
looks like an antique perfume bottle.

"By spraying the oxytocin directly up the nose, we know it can travel
up the trigeminal nerve and the olfactory nerve straight up into the
brain." says first author Jessica Burkhart. "Otherwise the blood-brain
barrier could filter it out." After these treatments, Burkhart and
her colleagues observed that the 23 lions who were given oxytocin were
more tolerant of other lions in their space and displayed less vigilance towards intruders. "You can see their features soften immediately, they
go from wrinkled and aggressive to this totally calm demeanor," says
Burkhart. "They totally chill out. It's amazing." Researchers measure
social tolerance by seeing how close a lion who has possession of a
desired object, in this case a toy, will let others approach it. "After
the lions were treated with oxytocin, and we gave them their favorite
pumpkin toy to play with, we saw the average distance between them drop
from about 7 meters with no treatment to about 3.5 meters after oxytocin
was administered." In a scenario where food was present, however, the
big cats did not show an increased tolerance to each other, even after
the hormone was given.

Importantly for future introductions, the hormone-treated lions
significantly decreased their vigilance toward potential intruders,
never roaring in response to recorded roars of unfamiliar lions, whereas untreated lions always roared in response.

This kind of treatment may become particularly helpful as cities in Africa sprawl and encroach upon lions' territory. In order to keep them safe and
away from humans, many have been transported to private fenced reserves,
which often results in lions from different prides being mixed in with
one another.

"Currently we're working on introductions of animals who have been rescued
from circuses or overseas or war zones that now live in sanctuaries,"
says Burkhart.

"The hope is that this will translate to animals being relocated in
the wild, helping them to become more inclined to their new social
environment so they're more curious and less fearful, leading to more successful bonding."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cell_Press. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Burkhart et al. Oxytocin promotes social proximity and decreases
vigilance in groups of African lions. iScience, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/
j.isci.2022.104049 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220330111339.htm

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