[Mating system of Marmota bobac. Le système d'appariement de Marmota bobac].

Résumé

There is the opinion in literature that families of M. bobac in nature are monogamous. But really this fact isn't studied in proper way. Breeding takes place in deep burrows at the beginning of spring. It's impossible to study relations between the members of family at this period in nature. The opinion about monogamy is basied on the breeding of only one female in family. But often family consists of some adult males and some time- some adult females. This investigation was carried out in 1991-92 in limits of program for marmots domestication. We found out that in groups of two adult females and one male doesn't breed. In the breeding period females were very agressive to each other. It's nesessary to point that agressive relations began only at that period, after the end of winter hibernation. Often the traums were the results of such conflicts. In the groups consisting of one male and one female copulations were registered for many times. For one male wich lived with 3 females gradually during the period of breeding copulated all of them. All females brought the litters. In the group where two males lived with one female the agressive relations between the males weren't registered in hard form. All males had developed testicles. We registred the breeding in therr of such groups. It's nesessary to point that one group of two females lived in 1992 during the season of breeding gradually with two males and were both pregnancy. This data show the principal ability of polygamy and polyandry in the families of marmots. This problem need the detailic investigations in future.