Antipredator constraints on lactating nubian ibexes

We compared time budgets, selection of habitat, and nursing schedules of female, free-ranging Nubian ibexes (Capra ibex nubiana) accompanied by following young (the usual maternal strategy) and those with young accidentally confined to a natural physiographic trap (i.e., nursery), which prevented them from following their mothers for several days. Following young and those in the nursery occurred simultaneously in the same area and population in the highlands of the Negev Desert in southern Israel. The behavior of mothers of young confined in the nursery differed from that of mothers with following young, and among the same individuals before and after their young left the nursery. Females with young confined in the nursery selected richer feeding habitats, spent more time feeding per day, foraged further from escape terrain and in smaller groups than did mothers with following young. Minimizing risk of predation to offspring appeared to be a key constraint on the behavior of mothers with following young.