Leung Elaine S, Vergara Valeria, Barrett-Lennard Lance G
Cetacean Research Lab, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Zoo Biol. 2010 Sep-Oct;29(5):633-7. doi: 10.1002/zoo.20295.
This study describes allonursing (females nursing offspring that are not their own) in captive belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). In addition to the calf's mother, two females that were not pregnant or nursing at the time of the calf's birth spontaneously lactated and nursed the male calf intermittently throughout 34 months of his life at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center. These observations suggest that allonursing may also take place in their wild counterparts and add to existing evidence of alloparental care in this species. Alloparental care, the care of nonoffspring, has been observed in every major mammalian taxon; the protection of calves through alloparental care may be a strong evolutionary benefit.
本研究描述了圈养白鲸（白鲸属）中的异亲哺乳现象（雌性哺育非自己亲生的幼崽）。除了幼崽的母亲外，另外两只在幼崽出生时未怀孕或未哺乳的雌性白鲸自发泌乳，并在温哥华水族馆海洋科学中心对这只雄性幼崽长达34个月的生命中进行了间歇性哺育。这些观察结果表明，异亲哺乳现象可能也会发生在野生白鲸群体中，这进一步补充了该物种中存在异亲抚育行为的现有证据。异亲抚育行为，即对非亲生幼崽的照顾，在每一个主要的哺乳动物分类中都有观察到；通过异亲抚育行为来保护幼崽可能具有强大的进化优势。
