![]() ![]() Other young mice growing into adulthood exhibited an even different type of behaviour. These individuals would have badly chewed and scarred tails. Ceratin individuals became targets of repeated attacks. The effects of violence became increasingly visible. Huddling together, they would exhibit brief flurries of violence amongst themselves. Excess males strived for acceptance, were rejected and withdrew. Dr Calhoun noticed that the newer generations of young were inhibited, since most space was already socially defined.Īt this time, some unusual behaviour become noticeable. This was called the "equilibrium" period. The third period, consisting of three hundred days, found the population of mice leveling off. As the population increased, most mice associated eating and drinking with the presence of others. Although each living unit was identical in structure and opportunities, more food and water was consumed in some areas. ![]() The population of the mice doubled every sixty days. The next period lasted about two hundred and fifty days. Territories were established and nests were made. Within the first one hundred days, the mice went through the period Dr Calhoun called, "strive". To see how Dr Calhoun's mouse universe grew, we use the familiar population graph again. ![]() In effect, the mouse universe simulated the present situation of the continually expanding population of humans. Factors which normally control population growth such as predation by owls and cats were eliminated. In this sixteen cell mouse habitat, utopian conditions of nutrition, comfort and housing were provided for the potential population of over three thousand mice. In a unique experiment that took years to complete, Doctor Calhoun used white mice to study population growth and its effects on individual behaviour. ![]() Transcript from the film Mouse Utopia Experiment on Youtube: Sleek, healthy coats and an absence of scars characterized these males. They ate, drank, slept, and groomed themselves – all solitary pursuits. Their male counterparts withdrew completely, never engaging in courtship or fighting. During this period females ceased to reproduce.
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