Nursing behavior in dam-reared Russian saiga (Saiga tatarica tatarica) at the San Diego wild animal park
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1994 |
Authors: |
Esther S. Rubin, Karla J. Michelson |
Publication/Journal: |
Zoo Biology |
Publisher: |
A Wiley Company, Inc., Wiley Subscription Services |
Keywords: |
hand rearing, infant development, mother-rearing, ungulates |
ISBN: |
1098-2361 |
Abstract:
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430130404.abs This study was designed to examine the nursing patterns and related behavior of young saiga raised by their dams. Four captive born lambs were observed at weekly intervals during continuous 14 h watches for the first 7 weeks of life. One-week-old lambs were found to nurse at an average rate of 1.1 bouts per hour and nursed for an average of 14.6 seconds per bout. This high nursing frequency and the average total daily nursing time of 242 seconds decreased rapidly with age. Saiga lambs sampled solid food as early as 4 days of age and were nearly dependent on solid food by the age of 7 weeks. Communal nursing, in which one or more lambs would nurse from an unrelated adult female while she nursed her own, was common. Grooming of the lamb by the dam was never seen except immediately following birth. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.