Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals
During the lactation period, female otariid seals alternate trips at sea to feed with visits ashore to nurse their pups. A female returning ashore must be able to recognize her own pup, and it is generally agreed that this is facilitated by auditory and olfactory cues. Instances of fostering behavio...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
1992
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z92-119 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z92-119 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z92-119 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z92-119 2024-03-03T08:37:16+00:00 Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals Lunn, N. J. 1992 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z92-119 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z92-119 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 70, issue 4, page 837-839 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1992 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z92-119 2024-02-07T10:53:37Z During the lactation period, female otariid seals alternate trips at sea to feed with visits ashore to nurse their pups. A female returning ashore must be able to recognize her own pup, and it is generally agreed that this is facilitated by auditory and olfactory cues. Instances of fostering behaviour (females nursing nonfilial pups) and milk stealing are reportedly rare among the otariids. In the austral summer of 1989, I observed eight and two instances of fostering behaviour and milk stealing, respectively, by Antarctic fur seals at Bird Island, South Georgia. The following summer, 26 cases of fostering behaviour and 71 cases of milk stealing were documented. In 1990, females appeared to have difficulty acquiring sufficient resources to feed their pups, so nutritional stress was probably responsible for the increase in milk stealing. The occurrence of fostering behaviour suggests that mothers were unable to recognize their own pups, although in the above cases the cause was not clear; neither human disturbance nor density appeared to be the primary factor. Maternal experience may have been a factor in 1990, as 10 of 14 females fostering pups were 5 years of age or less and had given birth to either their first or second pup. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Bird Island Canadian Science Publishing Antarctic Austral Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Canadian Journal of Zoology 70 4 837 839 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Lunn, N. J. Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
During the lactation period, female otariid seals alternate trips at sea to feed with visits ashore to nurse their pups. A female returning ashore must be able to recognize her own pup, and it is generally agreed that this is facilitated by auditory and olfactory cues. Instances of fostering behaviour (females nursing nonfilial pups) and milk stealing are reportedly rare among the otariids. In the austral summer of 1989, I observed eight and two instances of fostering behaviour and milk stealing, respectively, by Antarctic fur seals at Bird Island, South Georgia. The following summer, 26 cases of fostering behaviour and 71 cases of milk stealing were documented. In 1990, females appeared to have difficulty acquiring sufficient resources to feed their pups, so nutritional stress was probably responsible for the increase in milk stealing. The occurrence of fostering behaviour suggests that mothers were unable to recognize their own pups, although in the above cases the cause was not clear; neither human disturbance nor density appeared to be the primary factor. Maternal experience may have been a factor in 1990, as 10 of 14 females fostering pups were 5 years of age or less and had given birth to either their first or second pup. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lunn, N. J. |
author_facet |
Lunn, N. J. |
author_sort |
Lunn, N. J. |
title |
Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals |
title_short |
Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals |
title_full |
Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals |
title_fullStr |
Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fostering behaviour and milk stealing in Antarctic fur seals |
title_sort |
fostering behaviour and milk stealing in antarctic fur seals |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z92-119 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z92-119 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Bird Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Bird Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Bird Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Bird Island |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 70, issue 4, page 837-839 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z92-119 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
70 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
837 |
op_container_end_page |
839 |
_version_ |
1792497880632655872 |