Prevalence of allosuckling behaviour in Subantarctic fur seal pups

de Bruyn, P. J.Nico, Cameron, Elissa Z., Tosh, Cheryl A., Oosthuizen, W. Chris, Reisinger, Ryan R., Mufanadzo, N. Thomas, Phalanndwa, Mashudu V., Postma, Martin, Wege, Mia, van der Merwe, Derek S. and Bester, Marthán N. (2010) Prevalence of allosuckling behaviour in Subantarctic fur seal pups. Mammalian Biology, 75 (6), 555-560. (doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2009.11.004).

Abstract

Non-offspring maternal care should be rare due to the high costs of raising offspring, particularly lactation, but nonetheless occurs in a variety of taxa. Misguided parental care, associated with recognition errors and/or inattentiveness by lactating females, has been hypothesized as an explanation for allolactation in mammals. In an extension of this hypothesis, we suggest that milk-stealing is parasitism instigated by non-filial offspring, and that maternal behaviour is of secondary interest in an evolutionary context if she is unaware of the interaction. We provide evidence for frequent milk-stealing attempts by Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups, including an example of sustained non-maternal care (> three months) for one pup during the confirmed absence of his mother, leading to a weaning mass equal to the population mean. We also present only the second account of fostering/twins in the species at this locality. We suggest that rather than the hitherto suggested rare and anomalous behaviour, milk-stealing behaviour (while not always successful) is common.

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Contributors

Author: Ryan R. Reisinger

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