An observation of attempted infanticide and female–female cooperation in wild plains zebras (Equus quagga)
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Abstract
Male infanticide has been reported in a wide range of taxa as a strategy for redirecting maternal investment and increasing a male’s chance of siring future offspring. Plains zebras (Equus quagga) possess many of the social organization and life history traits found to favour infanticide. However, most documented cases are from captive animals, while it has not been detected in studies of free-ranging populations. Here, we report an apparent infanticide attempt in which the historical associations of all participants were known. In addition, we report the first instance of non-kin female–female cooperative defence against male aggression in this species. We discuss why this behaviour may not have been observed by other longitudinal studies. We then explore how intraspecific and inter-individual variation may factor into its relative rarity, how the reproductive biology of plains zebras relates to this behaviour, and how female–female cooperation between non-kin can operate as an effective counterstrategy.
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An observation of attempted infanticide and female–female cooperation in wild plains zebras (Equus quagga)
In: BehaviourSearch for other papers by Severine B.S.W. Hex in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Margaret Mwangi in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Rosemary Warungu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Daniel I. Rubenstein in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Male infanticide has been reported in a wide range of taxa as a strategy for redirecting maternal investment and increasing a male’s chance of siring future offspring. Plains zebras (Equus quagga) possess many of the social organization and life history traits found to favour infanticide. However, most documented cases are from captive animals, while it has not been detected in studies of free-ranging populations. Here, we report an apparent infanticide attempt in which the historical associations of all participants were known. In addition, we report the first instance of non-kin female–female cooperative defence against male aggression in this species. We discuss why this behaviour may not have been observed by other longitudinal studies. We then explore how intraspecific and inter-individual variation may factor into its relative rarity, how the reproductive biology of plains zebras relates to this behaviour, and how female–female cooperation between non-kin can operate as an effective counterstrategy.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1449 | 437 | 24 |
| Full Text Views | 105 | 17 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 195 | 28 | 2 |
