--The mating behavior of the male feral cat (Felis catus) living on a small island was investigated. The cats in the study area (6.0 ha) formed the "feeding groups" at the garbage sites (Yamane et al. 1994;Izawa et al. 1982). We examined the factors influencing fighting ability, rank during courtship, and mating success of the male cat. Males with heavier body weight mostly won over lighter males in the agonistic encounters during the estrous season. Heavier males occupied the more advantageous positions to copulate with the estrous females and had higher mating success. These results suggest that body weight was one of the important factors affecting the courtship rank and the mating success of the male cat. When males visited and courted the females of feeding groups other than their own, they were sometimes defeated by the lighter males in that particular group, which lowered their courtship rank and success in copulations. These results indicate that the location of the courting male (inside or outside of its own group) and the kind of females they courted (member of the same group or not) were also important factors.

No abstract

Free ranging hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) in four localities in the west and north of Saudi Arabia were examined for natural infection with Schistosoma mansoni. Faecal examination revealed infection with S. mansoni on four occasions within one year (at a prevalence rate of 2.5-4.0%) in only one locality, the Al-Baha area. The eggs were viable, as shown by miracidial hatching tests, and were recorded at a density of 140-280 eggs/g of faeces (7000-14 ooo eggdday). Post-mortem examination of 13-24 baboons from each locality revealed infection with S. mansoni (adult worms and eggs in tissue) in only one locality, the Al-Baha area, at a prevalence rate of 4.16%. Viable eggs were found in the faeces and tissue of the infected baboons. The low prevalence rate of S. mansoni in hamadryas baboons in Saudi Arabia is in accordance with the low prevalence rate of S. mansoni in humans in the area. This natural baboon isolate was highly infective to snail intermediate hosts and mammalian hosts under experimental conditions. The epidemiological significance of the role of P. hamadryas (considering their large overall population of 250 000) as maintenance hosts of S. mansoni in Saudi Arabia is discussed. keywords baboons, P. hamadryas, S. mansoni infection, prevalence correspondence N. Z. Zahed,

Although among feral cats, Felis catus, females copulate with multiple males, they do not accept all mounting or copulation attempts by males during their oestrous period. We observed eight female cats over their oestrous periods to examine whether or not female cats control paternity of their offspring in the field. The females were courted by between nine and 19 males, but copulated with only three to nine of them. Firstly, we compared female receptivity to male attempts among the eight females and tested how female traits affect their receptivity. Female receptivity to male attempts varied among the females both at mounting and at copulation. Females were more choosy at the time of copulation than at mounting. Females with a shorter oestrous duration and a lighter body weight tended to accept mounts more frequently than the females with a longer oestrous duration and a higher body weight. Older and lighter females tended to accept copulation more frequently than younger and heavier females. Females courted by fewer males per day also tended to accept copulations more frequently. Secondly, combining behavioural observations and determined kinship, we assessed whether females avoided copulating with their kin. The results showed that female cats avoid inbreeding with their close kin during copulation but not with distant relatives. Copulation attempts by kin males were less frequently accepted than those by nonkin males. Thirdly, we tested whether male age and body weight affect their mating success, but we failed to find any such correlation. These results support the hypothesis that female cats control paternity of their offspring during copulation.

Three levels of hamadryas social structure--the one male unit (OMU), the band, and the troop--have been observed at all sites studied, but a fourth--the clan--has been observed at only one site, Erer-Gota, Ethiopia, during a longitudinal check of the dispersion of identified individuals. The clan is important since it appears to provide the basis for male philopatry, although comparative data is needed from other sites to confirm this. We studied a huge commensal group of hamadryas baboons (over 600 animals) in Saudi Arabia. We put ear tags on baboons between 1998 and 2004 and analyzed social structure, relying on the interactions of these tagged animals by focusing especially on their dispersal patterns from OMUs. OMU membership tended to be looser than that of the Ethiopian hamadryas. Females tended to shift between OMUs on an individual basis in our study group, whereas the collapse of an OMU was a major occasion of adult female transfer in Ethiopia. We found neither stable bands (a "band" in our study group was defined as a regional assemblage of OMUs) nor clans that lasted for several years. Some OMUs moved and transferred into neighboring areas over both the short and long term. Further, some post-adolescent males appeared to move out of the study area. The ratio of adult females in an OMU in our study group was larger than for any other documented study site, and this may be the reason for enhanced female transfer between OMUs. A large proportion of the adolescent females showed no clear membership to OMUs, and no "initial units" (commonly observed in Ethiopia) were discernible. The ease with which young males acquired adult females at the study site must have disrupted the formation of a clan, a "male-bonded society."