Research Overview:
Mother-calf social interactions are very difficult to observe in the wild, so valuable information can be learned from every calf born at DRC. The social development of each calf is monitored closely to determine how much time the calf spends with his or her mother, how much time is spent with other lagoon-mates, and how much time is spent alone.
Changes in independence are tracked over time, so that eventually, different mother-calf pairs can be compared. Particularly interesting will be comparisons involving the same mother with successive calves so that we may see if birth order has an effect on parenting style. In addition, we will be able to assess whether previous experience as a babysitter, or alloparent in scientific terms, can be used as a predictor of good maternal care when the alloparent becomes a parent.
Social Development: Tursi and Gypsi
