![]() These behaviour patterns occur without strict rigidity in the possible combination performed and only for captive crested porcupine the mounting and copulation ethogram is available 13, 14. In captivity, in all the three species mounting and copulation behaviour are part of an elaborate courtship with free combination of a wide range of behavioural patterns: Resting, Sniffing, Grooming, Sound, Stepping, Following and Nose-Quills contact 3, 7, 13, 14. No data are yet available concerning mounting and copulation behaviour in all the three species of porcupine of genus Hystrix in wild. For captive crested porcupine and Indian crested porcupine, copulation occurs independently from the oestrus state with nightly rhythms of mounting recorded after or before births and even in presence of porcupettes 7, 10, 13, 14 while copulation was observed in captive cape porcupine only during the oestrus state 3. Conversely, free-ranging cape porcupines reproduce seasonally in summer rainfall areas with a peak of births occurring between March and August while males are reproductively active throughout the year 17, 18, 19. In wild Indian crested porcupine, data obtained from captured animals indicate that reproduction takes place continuously at least from April to September 16. Reproduction in wild crested porcupine and Indian crested porcupine is reported not to be season dependent 13, 14, 15. The reproduction period in wild crested porcupine and Indian crested porcupine is still not clear and there is a lack of data concerning birth periods in these two species. Captive crested porcupine, cape porcupine and Indian crested porcupine breed throughout the year 10, 11, 12 and only in captive cape porcupine a peak of litters was recorded between March and August 2, 11. The hystricomorphs are the only monogamous mammals to exhibit socio-sexual behaviour also outside the breeding period 9. ![]() indica) show a social organization based on small family clans 1, 2, 3, 4 in which monogamy appears to be the mating system 1, 5, 6, 7, 8. africaeaustralis) and the Indian crested porcupine ( H. The hystricomorph rodents of genus Hystrix: the crested porcupine ( H. Such new knowledge may be useful to the management of porcupines in wild, semiwild and captive condition as well as to delineate the key habitat desiderata of this rodent. This investigation provides new useful insights on porcupine reproductive behaviour in the wild. Parents and sub-adults of the family actively perform parental care and the permanence of sub-adults within the family (i.e., from birth to dispersal) resulted to be at least 1 year. The first emerging of porcupettes from burrow occurred at 10–15 days after birth. Births of porcupettes occurred throughout the year from 1 to 3 times per pair per year and the litter size observed ranged from 1 to 2 porcupettes. The average duration of copulation lasted 24 s (SD = 7 s) with 17 thrusting (SD = 5.5 thrusting). After the stochastic phase, the presenting of the female evoked by Nose-Quill contact behaviour, occurred in 83.8% (n = 182) of mounting events, while in 16.1% (n = 35) a spontaneous presenting of the female occurred. A stochastic phase characterized by an articulate courtship with distinct behavioural patterns always preceded each mounting event. Three months after both copulation events, the birth of porcupettes (porcupine < 5 kg) was recorded. Nightly rhythms of single and multiple mounting occurred throughout the year while only two copulation events were recorded. ![]() ![]() Between 20 the reproductive behaviour (i.e., intrapair mounting and copulation, birth and parental care) of free-ranging crested porcupine was documented and described. Previous data on crested porcupine reproduction biology were mostly collected in captivity or semi-captivity due to its elusive, burrowing and mainly nocturnal habits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |