The effect of the presence of a herd mate on explorative behaviour in guinea pigs when presented with a novel stimulus

Research has shown that the presence of a herd mate reduces cortisol levels in female guinea pigs when they are placed in an unknown environment. However, limited research exists into the effect of a herd mate on the display of explorative behaviour. This study looked at a small sample of seven guinea pigs from the same household, which were each taken to a holding pen where they were presented with a novel stimulus, either alone or with the boar from their herd. They were filmed for a period of 6 min and this footage was used to record how much time (in seconds) was spent displaying explorative behaviours. While there were differences between individuals, the presence of the boar correlated positively with increased explorative behaviour in five of the seven females. When the boar was present, explorative behaviours were displayed an average of 1.8 times more often.