Sex-Selective Infanticide and Sociality in Brown Bear Populations

Abstract

An analytical review of scientific publications containing materials or discussion of the concept of sexually selective infanticide (SSI) in brown bear populations (Ursus arctos) is presented. The authors of the SSI concept refer to the idea of sexual selection, which is a rather shaky conceptual basis. The concept was formed largely on the basis of materials obtained during the study of intraspecific relations in lion populations (Panthera leo). However, facts regarding the behavioral ecology of the lion, which accumulate relatively quickly, can be interpreted quite ambiguously and even only when applied to this species, the concept of this does not look convincing enough and is obviously unnecessarily anthropomorphic. Infanticide, cannibalism, and their combination are recorded in both lion and brown bear populations. However, the behavioral ecology of these species differs significantly. Brown bear populations are characterized by pronounced seasonality of reproduction; the presence of a reproductive interval in bear females, which can vary significantly in populations with different habitat conditions and varies from 1 to 5 years; and mating patterns than can vary from lax monogamy to panmixia. Multiple paternity is possible within the same litter of cubs of a brown bear. It follows from the review that brown bear populations are characterized by many features of sociality, with the lifestyle of bears being both solitary and group. It is hardly correct to classify the brown bear (and other species of bears) as uniquely asocial. From the analysis of publications on the behavioral ecology of the brown bear, it follows that the application of the SSI concept without significant additions is hardly useful for understanding the intraspecific relations of this species.