Dwarf Mongoose Helpers at the Den1
Author:
- 12 January 1978
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Zeitschrift Fur Tierpsychologie
- Vol. 48 (3) , 277-287
Abstract
This field study investigated helper behaviour in the care of the young in a small social carnivore, the dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula). The frequency with which individually marked mongooses, living in six packs, guarded young at the den (babysitting) and brought food to the young was recorded in all‐day and morning watches. The principal helpers were the subordinate adult ♀♀ and the yearlings. In a pack of known kinship relationships, an immigrant ♀ did more babysitting than any of the other pack members, all of whom were related to the young. Possible advantages of the aid‐giving behaviour to the helpers are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Defense of a Predator's Young by a Herbivorous Fish: An Unusual StrategyThe American Naturalist, 1977
- Florida Scrub Jay Helpers at the NestOrnithology, 1975
- The Evolution of Social BehaviorAnnual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 1974
- Banded mongoose males guard youngNature, 1974
- Prey Capture, Feeding Techniques, and their Ontogeny in the African Dwarf Mongoose, Helogale undulata rufulaZeitschrift Fur Tierpsychologie, 1973
- The Evolution of Reciprocal AltruismThe Quarterly Review of Biology, 1971
- Prey Selection and Hunting Behavior of the African Wild DogThe Journal of Wildlife Management, 1967
- Communal Food Distribution and Division of Labour in African Hunting DogsNature, 1965
- The genetical evolution of social behaviour. IJournal of Theoretical Biology, 1964
- Helpers among BirdsOrnithological Applications, 1961