Bioscientifica Proceedings

Summary. Litters of domestic piglets show strong sibling competition. large differences among litter-mates in birth weight and rate of growth, and, in the absence of human intervention, a high mortality rate. This combination of traits suggests that pigs are using a reproductive strategy similar to that of certain bird species which produce one or more small 'spare' young whose death or survival is determined by sibling competition. Death through competit...