The BUSH NUGGET:
*Where do the babies in the wild go when they grow up?*
When the young of mammal species that are not sociable matures, they’re usually pressured by the parents to leave their natal herd, pride, pack, mention them, simply because there are not enough resources to sustain them all in one area. Any permanent movement away from the natal territory or home range is referred to as *emigration*. The situation changes for the young of sociable animals where the females at least (in most cases) are allowed to stay, whereas the males are chases away when they mature because they’re a threat to the dominant male’s mating opportunities.
In *prey animals*, the sociability is probably a result of the need for safety, whereas in *predators* it is generally to improve hunting success and defence. It is usually true, therefore, that individual survival chances are improved by being part of the larger numbers. This individual rate of survival continues to improve as numbers in the group steadily increase.
There comes a time, however when the benefit to each member starts to taper (reduce) off as the numbers increase. Benefits then ultimately cease, and each individual actually starts to experience strain or suffering as numbers increase (mortality increases as there’s competition for resources)
Instead of animals just dying like that (miserably) at this point, the herd, pride, pack then either breaks into stable sub-units that split and merge as conditions fluctuate (sometimes the case) or younger individual leave to seek for breeding opportunities. *This can be of their own accord or they can be pushed out. Males usually emigrate- with one of the main benefits of emigration being the prevention of inbreeding- but in some cases, females will emigrate (e.g. African painted dogs and dwarf mongoose).
Emigration in societies where one male dominates a number of females also reduces overall mortality (death) of young males. *They rather flee that stay and get killed or injured by dominant males*.
Have a great day guides, consultants, rangers, tourism enthusiasts and tour operators.