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Some females abort or resorb their own young while they are still in development after a new male takes over; this is known as the Bruce effect. [31] This may prevent their young from being killed after birth, saving the mother wasted time and energy. However, this strategy also benefits the new male.
Diagram of stages of embryo development to a larval and adult stage. In developmental biology, animal embryonic development, also known as animal embryogenesis, is the developmental stage of an animal embryo. Embryonic development starts with the fertilization of an egg cell (ovum) by a sperm cell (spermatozoon). [1]
Alpha female dwarf mongooses and African wild dogs kill offspring other than their own, but alpha males do not. [23] This may be because the breeding alpha may have sired a rare subordinate's offspring. Subordinate females time their pregnancies such that they give birth several days after the alpha female, to reduce the risk of infanticide.
For mammals, the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. [1] The duration of this period varies between species. For most species, the amount a fetus grows before birth determines the length of the gestation period.
Human babies are unique in the animal kingdom due to their large head size relative to their bodies. This has an effect on the birthing process for humans as the bipedal gait of a human causes the birthing canal to be relatively narrow and twisted in the middle.
Infanticide in non-human primates occurs as a result of exploitation when the individuals performing the infanticide directly benefit from consumption or use of their victim. [1] The individual can become a resource: food ( cannibalism ); a protective buffer against aggression, or a prop to obtain maternal experience.
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This is a collection of lists of mammal gestation period estimated by experts in their fields. The mammals included are only viviparous (marsupials and placentals) as some mammals, which are monotremes (including platypuses and echidnas) lay their eggs. A marsupial has a short gestation period, typically shorter than placental.