Family breakup in brown bears: Are young forced to leave?

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:2003
Authors:Dahle, B, Swenson, JE
Journal:Journal of Mammalogy
Volume:84
Date Published:2003
Keywords:Ursus arctos
Abstract:

In brown bears (Ursus arctos), nursing of young > 1 year of age has a positive effect on their growth rate but is energetically costly for mothers and reduces the number of litters a female can produce during her lifetime. We followed radiomarked families to study their behavior during the period of family breakup. Yearlings separated from their mothers during the mating season and most family breakups were associated with the presence of an adult male, suggesting that termination of maternal care was not initiated by offspring.

Taxonomic name: 
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