Female elk are indeed almost invulnerable to human hunters when older than 9–10 y.o., confirming that experience contributes to their survival. Whereas human selection of behavioural traits has been shown in our previous research, we here provide evidence of additive learning processes being responsible for shaping the behaviour of individuals in this population. Our results indicated that both human selection and learning contributed to the adoption of more cautious behavioural strategies in older females. Or whether learning also was involved, meaning that females adjusted their behaviour as they aged. Using fine-scale satellite telemetry relocations, we tested whether differences in behaviour depending on age were due solely to selection pressure imposed by human hunters, meaning that females that were more cautious were more likely to survive and become older. We carried out a study in a system involving a large herbivorous mammal, female elk, Cervus elaphus, and their primary predator, i. ![]() Learning might play a key role in the development and adoption of successful anti-predator strategies, and the related adaptation has the potential to make animals that are more experienced less vulnerable to predation. Innate personality traits are supposedly less evident in animals when confounded by learning acquired with experience through time. ![]() g., temperament or personality traits) versus those behaviours shaped by learning. In animal behaviour, there is a dichotomy between innate behaviours ( e.
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