In a message dated 03/07/2000 3:15:54 PM Pacific Standard Time,
lostriver at seanet.com writes:

<< I am reminded of dominant male deer who spend so much time defending
their
herd of does during the rutting season that their risk of starving during
the winter may be greater than that of male deer who don't have a herd to
depend. Of course, the genes that get passed on are those of the male deer
willing to starve for sex. >>

On the third hand, most of the cervids I've seen in the wild (elk,
whitetailed and mule deer) all pack on the fat before the rutting season.
I've never seen caribou in the wild, but on the TV shows, I've seen caribou
bulls so fat they look like Christmas hogs.

The ones that manage to not only keep and hold a harem long enough to get
them all pregnant and still maintain enough body fat to take them through a
long winter are the ones that pass on their genes.
The ones that can't hold a harem probably do more fighting and more chasing
than the dominant bulls or bucks, thereby expending more energy. Then, let's
not forget that even though a bull may be a dominant one, he may be older
than the young bucks challenging him. His teeth are more worn, he may have a
tremendous parasite load, so he doesn't process his food as thoroughly, or he
just can't maintain condition...so even if he does get all his cows pregnant,
he may not survive the winter, no matter how much he eats.
The point being, there's an awful lot of variables here.

Michelle
MBlanchrd at aol.com