Mother-calf relationships and maternal investment in European bisonBison bonasus

Abstract

Mother-young relationships, up to the third month of the calves' life, were investigated in European bison Bison bonasus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Bia³owie¿a National Park breeding centres (Poland). During the first week, calves spent most of their time close to their mothers and were rarely seen in the vicinity of other group members. Highest suckling rate, most frequent vocal contact and agonistic behaviour of mothers towards intruders, were other characteristics of this period. Although being a forest species, European bison exhibit a following type of strategy for offspring protection, typical for ungulates living in open areas; no hiding phase was observed. Suckling rates were similar in calves of both sexes, however, the pattern of nursing was different: male calves suckled longer, but in rarer bouts than female calves. The mothers' condition, reflected by their social rank, did not influence the suckling rate. No sex differences were recorded in other maternal activities or mother-calf distance. The presumption of a lack of sex-biased maternal investment in European bison is confirmed by the results of other research.

The Time Budget of Javan Deer ( Rusa timorensis , Blainville 1822) in Panaitan Island, Ujung Kulon National Park, Banten, Indonesia

“…Fawn stayed with adult female especially in lactation period as reported on calf of European bison (Daleszczyk 2004). In ungulates, a major function of maternal behavior is the facilitation of learning processes in the infant (Lent 1974).…”

Conservation implications of the refugee species concept and the European bison: king of the forest or refugee in a marginal habitat?

“…Finally, the neonatal behaviour of European bison is atypical of forest ungulates in which the neonate is normally hidden for a period immediately after birth (Lent 1974). European bison calves adopt a ' following strategy ' with their mothers, as do calves of American bison , behaviour more typical of open habitat species (Lent 1974, Daleszczyk 2004. Hence, in this respect as well, B. bonasus has not developed a typical forest habitat adaptation.…”

Coping with transition: offspring risk and maternal behavioural changes at the end of the hiding phase

“…Habitat changes vary in duration. In some follower species, these changes encompass only parturition and the few hours or days necessary for the mother and offspring to bond and for the infant to develop the motor skills and speed necessary to keep up with a group of adults or evade predators (Bergerud et al 1984;Langbein et al 1998;Daleszczyk 2004;Bangs et al 2005); in other species, females may exhibit some degree of habitat preference alteration until weaning is completed (Bon et al 1995;Grignolio et al 2007). Because their young depend strongly on vegetation cover for protection, hider mothers typically remain in these habitats for the duration of the hiding phase (Clutton-Brock & Guinness 1975;Ozoga et al 1982;Schwede et al 1993;Byers 1997;Bongi et al 2008).…”