Animal leader： "polygamy" is not easy

Modern human society， emotional specificity is the basic moral standards. In the animal world， like the ancient emperors， "establishing the harem" is not uncommon， especially many animals have a polygamy habit. Mighty males are highly above， surrounded by a group of obedient female， lively and lovely cubs being their own baby， isnt is beautiful？ However， the reality is not so beautiful ...

Protecting the “Harem”， High Pressure

The most typical "harem" form， is the "female defensive type of polygamy". In this marriage system， the "king" can live with N spouses， as the ancient emperors in human society in general.

But being the so-called "high above the crowd，" these "king" owning many beauties helping to reproduce offsprings， at the same time， also bear the great pressure to defend their partners. Breeding period before the formation of the "harem"， among sea lions， seals and other foot animals， the male had to go through some bloody wars to have a female， then endlessly patrolling during the entire breeding season， always ready to fight with the competitors coming with the provocation， almost sleeplessly. To the end of the breeding season， even if the strongest male will be exhausted， black and blue.

Dividing the territory， Dangers arround

Another form of "harem" in the animal world is that the males divide their territory and do not allow competitors to enter， and can pursue any female who enters his territory. This is the "resource-protected polygamy". It is more common among mammals feeding on grasses， for example， zebra， wild horses and a variety of antelope， etc.

Take the African Impala as an example， the black goral in the non-breeding period compose of "bachelor club"， but during the breeding season， the friendship turns over. They fight for those fields with abundant water and juicy grasses， and finally divide their respective territory. The female gorals are free to move between the various territories， and the "master" of the site is very attentive to them. Those who occupy a good site of the "land" are naturally easier to win the females goodwill， and even in a breeding period they can attract more than one "girlfriend." However， these "winners" are in fact more dangerous than the losers， because the plentiful livable areas tend to ambush lions， cheetahs and other predators. And busy attracting the female， during this period， due to hormonal impulse their vigilance drops， thus it is easy for them to become the preys of the predators.

Another way is： males do not divide the site， but they select a courtship field， each finding a good location， using their own charm to attract the female. This is called "courtship field polygamy". Grouse， black grouse， great bustard and birds of paradise belong to this category. The gorgeous feathers on the male body represent a strong body， and their skillful courtship is a testament to experience. In the courtship field the “prince charming” to show superior can mate with a number of females， and those who lack the charm may not find a spouse. As for the price， Prince Charmings are more likely to be the target of the predators. After all， as the saying goes， "Common fame is seldom to blame”.

Polygamous， Hurting both sides

In fact， more than 90% of the birds still abide by the "monogamy" system. This is mainly due to the huge pressure of feeding chicks， parents working together can guarantee the survival rate of future generations. Swans， albatross and some other birds， can even maintain the relationship between spouses for decades， being ideal cooperative partners.

However， some birds "having affairs" behavior is very common， male and female may be in the breeding period to find a number of mating objects.

Such as the European spotted flycatcher， this birds of not surprising looks often "recruit bees and butterflies"， especially male. In the breeding season， some of the male will build several territory， separated from each other several hundred meters. This can attract two or three or even more females， and each female are kept in the dark. Usually the male will view the first female as "original"， so after the female lay eggs on the temporary， the male slip， pretending to be "single" to pursue other females. Wait until the original eggs began to hatch， it returned to the family to play a good husband， the main energy used to take care of the original offspring， while ignoring other chicks.

"Having affairs" enables the male spotted flycatcher can give birth to more offspring， but those abandoned poor females can only suffer alone brooding， chicks survival rate is not high. Although the male with the original birds can thrive， but not necessarily their own babies！ It turned out that when the male slip out to have their affair， the only empty nest of the female is often not idle， will be secretly into the home of other male mating， so the babies are likely to have more than one father.

From the perspective of popu-

lation continuation， the in-fidelity increases the genetic diversity of the offspring， which is beneficial to the survival and reproduction of the whole species. But from the individual point of view， the unloyal males have made anti-smart mistakes， hurting both the female and themselves.