%0 Journal Article %A WU Liang %A CHEN Ran %A WEI Yaolin %A YANG Xu %A ZHENG Bangyou %A LI Jinhua %T The maternal care by Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) in a semi-natural enviroment %D 2015 %R %J ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA %P 253-259 %V 35 %N 3 %X From May to September 2014, using focal-animal sampling methods, we studied the maternal care within 4 months postpartum of two adult Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) living in the semi-natural water environment of Tongling Freshwater Dolphins National Nature Reserve. The results indicate that there were five kinds of maternal care behaviors exhibited. Sheltering and carrying were the most common behaviors, while lifting, returning and intervening occurred occurred less often. As calves grew, the frequencies of lifting, carrying and intervening declined, while sheltering increased early in the calf’s life and leveled off as it grew. The returning behavior was relatively stable, but there was a peak in returning frequency when calves were approximately two months old. In addition, the frequencies of returning and intervening differed greatly between the two mothers. We conclude that the first two months of life are crucial for calf survival, so management should be strengthened during this period. %U http://www.mammal.cn/EN/abstract/article_3038.shtml