ON THE SUCKLING BEHAVIOR OF ALPINE CHAMOIS RUPICAPRA-RUPICAPRA-RUPICAPRA

The suckling behaviour of 9 mother-kid pairs of alpine chamois (Rupica pra rupicapra rupicapra) was studied from May to October 1991. Duratio n of suckling bouts decreased with age of the young, from a mean of 48 sec in the first month, to 22 sec in October, whereas the time betwee n suckling increased from 25 min to over 160 min. Suckling success (nu mber of successful suckling attempts over all attempts) of the young d ecreased from the first month up to the time when the young were weane d. Suckling was always terminated by the mother (except 2 times). Afte r the third month of life, mothers only allowed suckling by their ki;l s from the side. Each suckling attempt from behind was rebuffed.