AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF REPRODUCTION IN THE CAPE PORCUPINE

SUMMARY

Cape porcupines Hystrix africaeaustralis occur throughout southern Africa and their resistance and resilience to disturbances is ascribed to the response of reproductive mechanisms to perturbations. In the Cape porcupine physical contact between the sexes maintains cyclic ovarian activity and pair-bonding. Group formation and maintenance are a prerequisite for conception, and only one female in a group reproduces. However, porcupine females do have the ability to compensate for the loss of litters by conceiving within a few days of such loss. Dispersal of young from their natal colonies is a prerequisite for reproduction. Such dispersal, stimulated by the artificial reduction in density, may give rise to a decrease in the age of first reproduction and thus an increase in population growth rate in response to disturbance.