Maternal/filial Behavior

Abstract

A common feature of parent—young relationships in ungulates is the fact that the male normally takes no part in rearing the young. On the contrary, adult males sometimes represent a real danger to small young, e. g., in the hippopotamus (Verheyen, 1954). In the few cases where the adult male occasionally defends the young against predators (e. g., in zebra), this behavior can be better explained in terms of social organization in general than in terms of true “paternal” behavior. Thus, it is normally the female exclusively that cares for the young (an apparent exception was recently found in sable; see Sekulic et al., 1976).