Captive breeding of bobak marmots (Marmota bobak) in the cages. Osnoby razvedeniïa srepnykh sourkov (Marmota bobak) v ousloviïakh kletotchnogo soderjaniya. [Élevage en captivité des marmottes bobak (Marmota bobac)].

Résumé

The unique and only Russia's marmot nursery was established within JSC captive breeding farm "Pushkinskiy". There have been studied bobak marmots' (Marmota bobak) biological features and capacity for adaptation to artificial habitat, and various scenarios of animal keeping have been tested. Keeping one mature male together with one mature female proved to be the best way. It is also possible to keep one female with two males in one enclosure. Keeping one male with two females is to be excluded, since females were observed to fight one another until one them died. It was also interesting to observe marmots escape from enclosure. Most often the runaway would settle by enclosure where its mate lived, having dug a burrow just in front of the enclosure or close to it. It mainly concerns the animals that have been together for more than three years. Such behavioral patterns were not observed in young animals however, though they dug holes near enclosures. This is attributed to their being genetically predisposed to living in colonies. However, a case that a male runaway did not dig a burrow but lived for two weeks in another enclosure, which was subject to repair, penetrating into it through a hole of the cellular tloor, was reported in summer, 2003. Note that according to the same year observations a pair (a male and female) that escaped together also settled together in enclosure subject to repair, getting in it through the trapdoor. These cases evidence the adaptation of marmots to living in enclosures. Marmot-breeding in enclosures allowed revealing numerous ways of reproductive potential realization. Most often we observed monogamy (a male couples with one female during a reproduction season). Polyandrical contacts, where one female couples with several males during a reproduction season, are also possible. The cases of polygamy, where a male couples with several females during a reproduction season, were also observed in marmots. Marmots' reproduction period extends over approximately two months. 171 litters occurred during the years of observations (1995-2004). The earliest lit ter was reported on March 13, and the latest - on May 1. A peak reproduction was during a period 29th of March through 7th of April. 59.4 percent of females gave birth to their cubs during this period. A main problem of animals' adaptation to fundamentally new keeping and breeding conditions was an increased reproductive capacity. 11 of 25 females ( 44 % ) of the main herd gave birth to cubs in 2004. The rate of prolificacy was 4.64 cubs, and female's output was 5.75 cubs. The trapdoors of marmot houses were sequentially opened as they finished hibernation. The houses were opened on February 1. Marmots on the sunny side of enclosure awoke earlier. 16 pairs (64 percent) of marmots on the sunny side and 3 (12 %) on the shady one awoke before February 15. Eight of the females (32 %) living on the sunnyside of enclosure and 3 (12 percent) (P > 0.99) living on the shady side gave birth to cubs. The earlier opening oftrapdoors resulted in a shorter littering period (April3 through April17).