Is pouncing more of a play, aggonistic, or courtship behavior?

Introduction

                Squirrels are very active creatures, but not usually social.  When they are interacting with each other, they can be seen pouncing on top of each other.  Squirrels, when they do interact, are known to play and fight with each other as well as engage in courtship behaviors.  I hypothesize that when squirrels pounce on each other, they are playing rather than being aggnostic or displaying some kind of courtship.

Materials and Methods

                Squirrels will first need to be observed pouncing on each other.  Once the pouncing has stopped, the sex of each squirrel will need to be determined.  Squirrels of the same sex that are pouncing on each other would rule out the possibility that pouncing is a kind of courtship.  The age and kinship of the squirrels would also need to be determined.  If squirrels that are pouncing on each other are from the same dray, it is possible that they are pouncing for play.  If the pouncing action is followed by a more aggressive act or results in one squirrel running away, it’s possible that the pouncing is a fighting behavior.  Two dominant squirrels could also be placed together with a food source to see if they engage in fighting behaviors and if so, is pouncing a behavior performed by one or both squirrels.  A Chi-square test could be used for analysis of the collected data.

Pasztor, T. J., Smith, L. K., MacDonald, N. K., Michener, G. R., & Pellis, S. M. (2001). Sexual and aggressive play fighting of sibling Richardson’s ground squirrels. Aggressive Behavior, 27(4), 323-337. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.