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Siblicide in Serengeti spotted hyenas: a long-term study of maternal input and cub survival

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Abstract

In the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, large fluctuations of prey abundance alters the frequency at which spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) cubs are nursed and thus the total level of maternal input available to them. Maternal input is high when mothers feed on high densities of locally available migratory herbivores and low when mothers travel up to 70 km to forage. Using data from 19 cub cohorts on the incidence of siblicide (from monitoring the survival of 609 cubs in twin litters) and cub growth rates (from 195 cubs in twin litters) as a measure of maternal input, we demonstrate that the incidence of siblicide increased as average cohort growth rate declined. In total, there were 37 siblicides in 384 litters (9% of litters). When both cubs were alive, total maternal input in siblicidal litters was significantly lower than in non-siblicidal litters and the mean share of the dominant sib of 64.6% was significantly higher than the mean of 52.1% for dominant sibs of non-siblicidal litters. After siblicide, growth rates of siblicide victors substantially increased, demonstrating that mothers did not reduce maternal input after litter reduction. As a result, siblicide victors achieved a long-term growth rate similar to that of singletons and thus significantly increased their expected survival. We conclude that in spotted hyenas, high maternal input in lactation has favoured the evolution of facultative siblicide in populations inhabiting areas with low or fluctuating food resources.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Tanzania Commission of Science and Technology and the Government of Tanzania for permission to conduct the study, the director generals of the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and Tanzania National Parks for cooperation and support, the Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, the Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung, the Stifterverband der deutschen Wissenschaft and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft the for financial assistance, two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and Annie Francis, Traudi Golla, Oliver Höner, Thomas Shabani, Dagmar Thierer, Agnes Türk, Bettina Wachter and Kerstin Wilhelm for assistance.

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  1. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany

    Heribert Hofer & Marion L. East

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  1. Heribert Hofer
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  2. Marion L. East
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Correspondence to Heribert Hofer.

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Communicated by A. Schulte-Hostedde

This contribution is part of the special issue “Sibling competition and cooperation in mammals” (guest editors: Robyn Hudson and Fritz Trillmich).

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Hofer, H., East, M.L. Siblicide in Serengeti spotted hyenas: a long-term study of maternal input and cub survival. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 341–351 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0421-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0421-3

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