astro
May 19, 2013, 6:33pm
1
Re this story
It all started in August, writes Lisa Chamoff for Greenwich Time. Armani, an anteater at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center, had given birth to anteater baby girl Alice. Alice’s father, Alf, was kept away from Armani and Alice because male anteaters have a bad history of committing infanticide.
I looed in several online sources but cannot find this assertion referenced anywhere. Is this true or not.
Wiki
Reproduction and parenting - Giant anteaters can mate throughout the year.[14] During courtship, a male consorts with an estrous female, following and sniffing her. Male and female pairs are known to feed at the same insect nest.[29] While mating, the female lies on her side as the male crouches over her. A couple may stay together for up to three days and mate several times during that period.[14] Gestation lasts around 190 days[29] and ends with the birth of a single pup,[16] which typically weighs around 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).[37] Females give birth standing upright.[14]
Pups are born with eyes closed and begin to open them after six days. The mother carries its dependent pup on its back.[30] The pup’s black and white band aligns with its mother’s, camouflaging it.[16] The young communicate with their mothers with sharp whistles and use their tongues during nursing. After three months, the pup begins to eat solid food and is fully weaned by ten months. The mother grooms her offspring during rest periods lasting up to an hour. Grooming peaks during the first three months and declines as the young reaches nine months of age, ending by ten months. The decline mirrors that of the weakening bond between mother and offspring; young anteaters usually become independent by nine or ten months.[4] Anteaters are sexually mature in 2.5–4 years.[30]
While I don’t know, I will note that many species behave differently in captivity than they do in the wild. It could be true that male anteaters never do this in the wild, but have done so in several instances in zoos, explaining the caution the authorities felt was appropriate.
I’ve never heard this. I expect that it is a behavior found in captivity, not in the wild.
Sailboat:
While I don’t know, I will note that many species behave differently in captivity than they do in the wild. It could be true that male anteaters never do this in the wild, but have done so in several instances in zoos, explaining the caution the authorities felt was appropriate.
It’s possible that there is no fundamental difference in this case between behaviour in the wild and behaviour in captivity, but that in the wild anteaters tend to be solitary animals and the males never have the opportunity to kill their offspring, while in captivity they ae held in enforced priximity.