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From: jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jolly C. Pancakes)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,soc.men,soc.women,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Rape a reproductive advantage?
Message-ID: <1504@osiris.UUCP>
Date: 20 Jan 88 07:13:41 GMT
References: <517@gtx.com> <248@nancy.UUCP> <6852@ihlpa.ATT.COM>
Distribution: na
Organization: The Electric Otter Sushi Bar
Lines: 15
Summary: duck mothering instincts

In article <6852@ihlpa.ATT.COM>, krista@ihlpa.ATT.COM (K.J.Anderson) writes:
> Also, if the female did not have a male to help raise the nestlings,
> they probably would not survive.  Hence, I would suspect that
> copulation without the mated bond is a deviant behavior.  

I'd just like to point out here what every farmer knows - ducks make *terrible*
mothers (this goes for domestic ducks and mallards - other wild types might
be better). Duck fathers have nothing to do with raising the offspring
(nothing positive, anyway) and duck mothers do barely better. They lose
ducklings all the time - a clutch of 14 new nestlings might be reduced to
8 in just a few weeks time, due to the mother duck's carelessness. This
can be contrasted with the behavior of geese, who are fiercely protective
parents, both males and females. (It's a barnyard trick to slip extra 
duck eggs under a goose, who will make a big fuss over them and ensure 
their survival, whereas if left to the mother duck, they might be lost)