The imprinting is an amazing innate animal behaviour. This presentation gives a brief look into the imprinting behaviour in animals

1. IMPRINTING
D R . S U R J Y A K U M A R S A I K I A
D E P A R T M E N T O F Z O O L O G Y
V I S V A - B H A R A T I
This presentation is used for educational purpose

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
• After this lesson, we will be able to know what is
imprinting behavior
• After this lesson, we will be able to understand how this
behavior is used in conservation etc.

3. Imprinting
The quick early learning of a behavior that becomes a
permanent response to a particular stimulus.
A significant innate component during a limited critical period
Who’s
your
mamma?
Grey lag geese of Konrad Lorenz

4. Upon coming out of their eggs, ducklings and chicks
follow and become attached (socially bonded) to the first
moving object they encounter (which usually, but not
necessarily, is the mother duck or hen).The first scientific
studies of this phenomenon were carried out by Austrian
naturalist Konrad Lorenz (1903 - 1989), one of the
founders of ethology (the study of animal behavior).

5. He discovered that if greylag geese were reared by him from
hatching, they would treat him like a parental bird.
The goslings followed Lorenz about and when they were
adults they courted him in preference to other greylag
geese.
He first called the phenomenon "stamping in" in German,
which has been translated to English as imprinting.

6. In an another other experiment, he
demonstrated that ducklings could be
imprinted not only to human beings, but
also to inanimate objects such as a white
ball.

7. Actual
mother
Incubator
Lorenz’s experiment on imprinting
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8. Animal figures collected from Pixabay
Mamma,
mamma

9. Cover page from discogs.com
From Intofilm.org
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only
Winged Migration (2001)
Directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin

10. From
dohafilminstitute.com
From bampfa.org
Still images from ‘Winged Migration’
*This slide is used for educational purpose
only

11. From patriciathompson.net
*This slide is used for educational purpose
only

12. A 1996 family drama film directed by Carroll Ballard
A story of a 13 years old girl, Amy who
found 16 goose eggs and grew them up.
The goose imprinted Amy as mother. Amy
took all trouble to get trained with light
weighted aircraft to help goose to leave in
their habitat after travelling around
13000miles. After one year, the goose
returned to see Amy, their mother.