Male Antelope Scare Females Into Staying for Sex
nationalgeographic ^ | May 21, 2010 |
Posted on Saturday, May 22, 2010 10:14:41 AM
During mating season, male topi antelope trick females with false alarms of nearby danger to boost chances for sex, a new study says.
If a female starts wandering out of a male's territory, the male will begin snorting and staring, ears pricked, at nonexistent predators.
"The female will be walking away, and the male runs in front, looks not at the female but where she's going, makes this snort, and she typically stops," said lead researcher Jakob Bro-Jørgensen of the University of Liverpool.
The researcher, who observed the topi's tricky behavior in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve, noted that the males issue fake warnings only when the wandering females are in heat.
Bro-Jørgensen thinks male topi might have evolved the behavior to better their odds during the brief but intense mating season.
One day a year females are in heat, and during that period they will have sex with an average of four different mates, 11 times each.
Tricking a female into sticking around for a few extra minutes gives the buck more chances for sex and denies other males the opportunity, Bro-Jørgensen said.
nationalgeographic ^ | May 21, 2010 |
Posted on Saturday, May 22, 2010 10:14:41 AM
During mating season, male topi antelope trick females with false alarms of nearby danger to boost chances for sex, a new study says.
If a female starts wandering out of a male's territory, the male will begin snorting and staring, ears pricked, at nonexistent predators.
"The female will be walking away, and the male runs in front, looks not at the female but where she's going, makes this snort, and she typically stops," said lead researcher Jakob Bro-Jørgensen of the University of Liverpool.
The researcher, who observed the topi's tricky behavior in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve, noted that the males issue fake warnings only when the wandering females are in heat.
Bro-Jørgensen thinks male topi might have evolved the behavior to better their odds during the brief but intense mating season.
One day a year females are in heat, and during that period they will have sex with an average of four different mates, 11 times each.
Tricking a female into sticking around for a few extra minutes gives the buck more chances for sex and denies other males the opportunity, Bro-Jørgensen said.
