Male infacticide in plains zebras

A detailed Summary of Male infacticide in plains zebras

Male Infanticide in Captive Plains Zebra

The department of Zoology and science faculty at Charles University planed this experiment with the following hypothesis. "Introducing a new zebra male into a herd of breeding females should increase foal Mortality in comparison with herds in which the sire of the foals is still present " (Pluhacek and Bartos, 2000). The younger the foal the higher the infanticide rate. "Male Infanticide is the killing of newborns or young juveniles by an adult male"(Pluhacek and Bartos, 2000). The encouragement for this experiment came for data recorded from five herds in two different zoological gardens in the Czech Republic. Some of the data that was obtained during this experiment included, nine records of infanticide in plains zebras and three cases of abortion that was probably induced by force.

Fifty percent of breeding mares conceive while still lactating. Most mares are providing nutrients for both foal and fetus. "When a new stallion is introduced he benefits more from initiating abortion than killing foals" (pluhacek and Bartos, 2000).

The methods for this experiment are as followed. Five breeding herds of plains ze

There were a total of eight males involved, 161 foals were considered, 35 were aborted, and 126 survived. Next was the comparison of abortions for the new male compared to the abortion rate for the original father. For the new males there was 15 abortions at 33.3%. For the fathers there were 20 abortions at 17.2%. The next data to be recorded was that of both new male and fathers. Eighty-three foals' total, 18 were aborted and 65 survived, two died. The proportion of abortions for new males was 13 abortions 35.1% this was three times greater for fathers with only five abortions at 11.6% (Pluhacek and Bartos, 2000).

Any foals that were injured by the new stallion and needed medical treatment by a veterinarian and had to be separated from the herd were recorded as dead in the analysis.

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The abortion rate for new male zebras was 33%. This is an indication that suggests that captive plains zebras might suffer from feticide to a greater extent than wild horses. This behavior was based on captive animals, it is difficult to know if the same incidences occur in the wild.

Also tested was the age group with in most foals were attacked, and the date the new male arrived. The majority of the foa

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Approximate Word count = 870
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science

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