Ethology: Animal Behaviour

Animal behavior can be defined (Deither, 1957) as the end result of step by step stimuli product. Ethology or animal behavior is also said to be the direct or indirect response of animals to both external and internal stimuli which is inherently determined by instincts and genetic inheritance. The events that usually culminate into behavior include movement, feeding and breeding. Behavior can be complex or simple, conscious or non-conscious, regular or non-regular. Initially complex behavior stems from very simple behavior. Behavior develops through various stages before it becomes complex. The responses are by the whole animal or parts of the body of these animals. Purposively, behavior patterns are meant to fulfill the day to day requirements or needs of the individual animal. The principle factor that controls animal behavior is motivation or drive. Motivation is described as the experience or desire to act in a particular way in order to achieve a certain end. It is also said to be a drive or instinct from within. Thus, it can be described as a reversible internal process responsible for a change in behavior of a given animal.