An observation of incest avoidance in Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

Free-ranging Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) tends to avoid inbreeding, but there is no information about how they manage this avoidance. Our observation of a female wolf in Yellowstone National Park actively rebuffing her father’s sexual advances but then copulating with a distantly related male is the fir...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Main Authors: Mech, L. David, McIntyre, Rick
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2024
Subjects:
Canis lupus
Gray Wolf
inbreeding avoidance
incest
reproduction
Behaviour
Yellowstone National Park
gray wolf
Online Access:https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2971
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v137i3.2971
Description
Summary:Free-ranging Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) tends to avoid inbreeding, but there is no information about how they manage this avoidance. Our observation of a female wolf in Yellowstone National Park actively rebuffing her father’s sexual advances but then copulating with a distantly related male is the first and only report of one means by which wolf pack members avoid inbreeding.

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