Study of maternal behaviour in wild mice: avoidance to retrieve young and increase in cannibalic activity

Pregnant females trapped from the wild were watched daily for parturition. Postpartum-retrieving reaction tests were carried out with all mothers using their own, alien or mixed pups. All the females when release in the cage for testing roamed around the cage but did not tend to retrieve any of the pups. Females frequently sniffed their own pups as well as alien ones without displaying any discrimination. However, when these females were left with their pups for rearing after the tests, they tended to cannibalize the latter. These findings indicate the absence of maternal retrieving in wild species of Mus, at least, under laboratory conditions.