Research Article

Social vole parents force their mates to baby-sit

  1. Noga Libhaber,
  2. David Eilam*

Article first published online: 24 SEP 2002

DOI: 10.1002/dev.10075

Issue

Developmental Psychobiology

Developmental Psychobiology

Volume 41, Issue 3, pages 236–240, 2002

Additional Information

How to Cite

Libhaber, N. and Eilam, D. (2002), Social vole parents force their mates to baby-sit. Dev. Psychobiol., 41: 236–240. doi: 10.1002/dev.10075

Author Information

  1. The Meir I. Segals Garden for Zoological Research, Department of Zoology Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv 69 978, Israel

*The Meir I. Segals Garden for Zoological Research, Department of Zoology Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv 69 978, Israel.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 24 SEP 2002
  2. Article first published online: 24 SEP 2002
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 4 NOV 2001
  4. Manuscript Received: 9 OCT 2001

Funded by

  • Israel Science Foundation. Grant Number: 589-99

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Keywords:

  • Microtus socilalis;
  • parental behavior;
  • maternal behavior;
  • monogamy;
  • paternal behavior;
  • paternal investment;
  • mating system

Abstract

Parental care has been categorized into direct and indirect investment. The former includes direct contact with the offspring, as in lactation or huddling with the pups, and the latter includes activities such as nest building or hoarding food for the guarding mate. We report here an unfamiliar type of parental behavior in which one parent aggressively forces its mate to stay in the nest with the pups. In this “forced baby-sitting,” one parent grasps the fur of its mate and drags it toward the nest. The behavior was observed in 6 of 10 pairs of the social vole (Microtus socilalis guentheri) and was typically executed by the male. Dragging the mate to the nest was not correlated with other parental behaviors; neither could we explain why-when it occurred. However, this behavioral pattern was eye catching, and its goal was obviously to enforce the mate to stay in the nest with the pups. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 41: 236–240, 2002. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/dev.10075

To view video clips of “forced babysitting,” go to the journal's supplementary materials site.

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