_____ is the scientific and objective study of animal behavior

• A. Ecology
• B. Ethnology
• C. Ethology
• D. Endocrinology

Answer: (C)

Ethology is defined as the scientific and objective study of animal behavior. This focus on observing and understanding how animals act in natural or typical conditions, including instinctive and learned behaviors and their adaptive significance, makes it the best fit for the given definition. Ecology deals with relationships between organisms and their environment and ecosystem processes, not specifically behavior; ethnology studies human cultures and social patterns; endocrinology explores how hormones influence physiology and behavior, rather than the broad study of behavior itself.