Designed to Reproduce
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 September 2021
Females are designed to reproduce, and mating is a small part of the process. Females that are most productive breed early in life, at every opportunity (annually), live long, and wean large pups that are most likely to survive and reproduce. These supermoms are rare but have the greatest influence on the next generations. In contrast, most female weanlings (75%) die before reaching breeding age, and most that survive to breed do so only a few times. Long-lived supermoms live up to age 23 and may produce 20 pups in life.
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