Dr. Carin Bondar - Biologist with a Twist

Animal Parenting

Why Do Primate Moms Continue Maternal Care For A Deceased Infant?

Multiple cases of primate mothers carrying and providing care to deceased infants have been observed. From chimpanzees and geladas to spider, squirrel, Japanese, and snub-nosed monkeys, mothers of diverse species have been known to carry [...]
Animal Parenting

Male Killer Whales Are Mama’s Boys

Adult male killer whales are the world’s biggest mama’s boys. Literally. Matriarchs strongly protect their adult sons, keep them free from agonistic interactions with other groups or individuals, and make sure that they get enough [...]
Animal Parenting

How Primate Moms React to the Death of Offspring

Primates are the most well-observed group of animals when it comes to the topic of a mother’s reaction to offspring death. Cases of continued postmortem maternal care have been observed across several species of monkeys [...]

Cryptic Female Choice

August 25, 2021 0

“Cryptic female choice” is essentially a female’s way of exercising some post-coital power over whose sperm will fertilize her eggs. There are many reasons why a female would want to retain some kind of control […]

Male Rats Run Out Of Sperm But Still Engage In Sex

August 18, 2021 0

Rats (superfamily Muroidea) have a well-studied mating system that often involves males becoming sexually satiated. This means that they literally get tapped out of sperm and it takes approximately fifteen days for their fertility to […]

Obligate Diapause – Suspending Pregnancies in Carnivores

August 11, 2021 0

As opposed to the rodents who experience facultative diapause, carnivore moms experience obligate diapause. Obligately diapausing mothers experience a period of embryonic inactivity each time a pregnancy occurs. Regardless of environmental conditions, there is a […]