Mangheni Pride

[afortich]

(07-18-2022, 02:02 PM)Tonpa Wrote: I believe that's the 1982 paper by Craig Packer 

"Effects of Male Takeovers on Female Reproduction and Reproductive Activity

1.Reduced fertility

Most females with dependent offspring lose their cubs within a month of a takeover and females that are pregnant at the takeover lose their cubs shortly after giving birth. Although most females quickly resume sexual activity after the loss of cubs at a takeover and have regular estrous cycles (Packer and Pusey 1983), fertility is lower than at other times. The loss in fertility at a takeover is most apparent when the time from loss of small cubs to next birth for females that were lactating at a takeover is compared with the time from loss of cubs to next birth for lactating females that lost their cubs under other circumstances. Lactating females that lost their cubs at a takeover and then mated with the incoming males gave birth a median of 110 days later than females that lost their unweaned cubs and then mated with the same males that fathered their previous litters (fig. 1). We estimate that females that lost their cubs at a takeover took 6-9 estrous cycles to become pregnant, whereas most females that lost their cubs under other circumstances conceived in the first or second estrous period (Packer and Pusey 1983).

This period of infertility is also apparent in the data of Bertram (1975) which show that no full-term pregnancies were initiated during the first 3.5 mo after a takeover. In our study, females were infertile for a median of 102 days after the takeover irrespective of their reproductive state at the time of the takeover (n = 20 females; Packer and Pusey 1983). The duration of this infertility was the same across different prides and once it ended, females became pregnant with a constant probability (Packer and Pusey 1983).

The fact that females in all reproductive states show a similar period of infertility following a takeover suggests that they are reacting in some way to the ““newness’’ of the males and that as females become familiar with the males, they are more likely to become pregnant. Even females that had initially avoided new males would become more familiar with them through olfaction. Males frequently mark the ground and bushes with urine and glandular secretions (Schaller 1972). Females frequently investigate these markings (Rudnai 1979), and each lion’s scent may be unique (Brahmachary and Dutta 1981). Table 1 shows that the period of infertility depends more on the time from the takeover than the time from the loss of cubs. Females that kept their previous cubs longest into the tenure of the new males became pregnant most quickly after the cubs were finally lost or left the pride. These findings suggest that the period of infertility is not a specific response to the loss of the cubs, but rather a general response to the ‘‘newness’”’ of the males."

Nice posting, very informative!! Reply