During a 4 - or 5 - hour estrus,
a female prairie dog may mate with as many as 5 different males, allowing pups from the same litter to have different fathers.
So why would
a female prairie dog take the risk to mate with multiple males?
«Why do
female prairie dogs copulate with more than one male?
«Multiple mates worth the risk for
female prairie dogs.»
Mating with more than one male increases reproductive success for
female prairie dogs, despite an increase in risks.
Not exact matches
For Gunnison's and white - tailed
prairie dogs, however, polyandrous
females were less likely than monandrous
females to survive until the next mating season.
If I had studied only Gunnison's
prairie dogs, on the other hand, I would have concluded that both costs and benefits of polyandry dramatically affect
female survivorship and
female reproductive success,» says Hoogland.
Food & Hunting Although
prairie dogs are almost exclusively vegetarian, nursing
females have been observed both cannibalizing and communally nursing each other's pups.