IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Eaton, R.L. | |
| Why some felids copulate so much: a model for the evolution of copulation frequency | |
| 1978 Carnivore (1): 42-51 | |
Some felids copulate frequently for periods of several days. The social lion (Panthera leo) copulates frequently, as much as several asocial congenitors and the asocial puma (Puma concolor), whereas the social cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the asocial bobcat (Lynx rufus), ocalot (Leopardus pardalis), snow leopard (Panthera onca) and black-footed cat (felis nigripes) have low copulation rates. Copulation rates are not clearly related to sociality, nor to taxonomic affinity: four of five Panthera felids and the monogeneric, distantly related Puma have a high frequency, one of five Panthera felids and six other species of four genera have a low frequency of copulation. A symposium on reproduction in felids offered no substantive explanations for high copulation frequency, although Eaton (1974a) speculated that sexual gratification in lions is an evolved mechanism that achieves bonds of males to females in social groups. Possibly, physiological or anatomical peculiarities are responsible for excess mating. However valid these suggestions, no plausible evolutionary theory has been proposed. The fact that most Panthera cats copulate frequently may be related to their large size and the consequent low risk of being attacked by predators and possibly conspecifics while mating. The Puma is also large and copulates a lot, yet the snow leopard does not. |
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