Hormonal treatment with oxytocin can calm lions and effectively reduce their ferocity. In practice, this can make them more friendly and receptive to interactions with each other and even with humans.
The study that supports the treatment was published in the scientific journal iScience and has caught the attention of veterinarians and conservation organizations around the world.
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At first, your thinking may be obvious: lions are “alpha” predators, meaning they have no natural enemies and are at the top of their respective food chains. Because they are naturally aggressive, vehemently defending their territories and capable of killing prey – and people – with a single kick, we should leave them alone.
And at this point you wouldn’t be wrong: the problem is that due to global warming, sport hunting (legal or illegal) and the constant urbanization of savannas and other habitats, the space available for lions in the wild shrinks and smaller, more, forcing the expansion of captive structures so that they are retained.
However, lions in captivity cannot have the same degree of aggression as in the wild – or they risk killing each other. And this is where oxytocin comes in:
In one experiment, biologists Craig Parker and Sarah Heilbronner from the University of Minnesota used pieces of meat to lure lions to a dividing fence so they could spray them with a nasal spray made with oxytocin – a process repeated over several days.
“By applying oxytocin directly through the nose, we know the compound can travel through the olfactory system and the trigeminal nerve directly to the brain,” said study lead author Jessica Burkhart. “If it wasn’t, the blood-brain barrier could be filtering the material. »
There is another – more popular – name for oxytocin: “the hormone of love”. In clinical applications, it is common to see this hormone used in obstetrical practices to help the uterus move during childbirth. In addition, this same hormone plays a role in the production of breast milk. Psychologically, oxytocin is linked to the bond between mothers and children and experts say it helps reduce symptoms such as anxiety and therefore irritability.
Returnal to lions: Over a two-year period, experts observed 23 lions that underwent treatment, noting that they became increasingly tolerant of other lions approaching them in their vicinity.
“You could see his features soften almost immediately, going from a wrinkled, aggressive face to this totally calm display,” Burkhart said. “They are completely silent. After the lions were treated with oxytocin, we gave them their favorite toys, and we saw that the average distance between a lion, its toy and another lion decreased by seven meters. [m] without treatment for about 3.5 m after hormone administration.
However, this was not repeated in the presence of food: the felines very aggressively followed any approach when in possession of food – an indication that they somehow knew how to differentiate the arrival of a potential playmate of a rival seeking to steal your food.
When it comes to ranged interactions, the improvement in this behavior persists: untreated lions still return ranged roars with a roar of their own. They do this to establish a territory: “I’m listening to you, but if you come here, we’re going to fight. The treated lions, however, did not roar, suggesting greater acceptance of the approach.
The measure could provide another tool in conservation efforts. Conservation reserves often catch lions that have been abused by circuses, strayed from packs or even displaced by war – a very perennial problem on the African continent. Therefore, some feline rivalries may surface with more intensity, resulting in animals being injured or, worse, killed by other animals.
Additionally, as urbanization moves closer to lion territories, reduced aggression can help protect them from us humans and, at the same time, us from them.
“The hope is that one day this will result in relocating animals back into the wild, helping them to become more inclined towards peaceful social interactions so that they are more curious and less restless, which will lead to closer bonds. strong,” Burkhart said.
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