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This figure ts even lorrer than rdhen the fartn first star:ed
obtaining viable eggs in 1985. "lbe 442 eggs collected frotn the
Galana River in 1992 shotded a hatching success of 90.5 %.
hdicating that incubation procedures lrere satisfactory. The
reduction in hatching success could be linked with the poor
condition of the nale (RLO/?5\ r{ho over the last 2 years has lost
considerable physical condition.
It also seens like it fron the data (Table 1) that the najority of
the hatchLj-ng clutches, erhich are the first to hatch each year
(ear1y March) showed the grealest percentage of hatchlings- lhis
again could be linked rrith the fertility of the nale in that the
Iast females to get nated had a poorer chance of having fertile
eggs. This point ho\rever needs much deeper investigation/ as there
are one or two exceptions to the above.
The paper rnainly discussed and attributed the fenales lour egg
nutdbers and bionass of Ta/76 and A6/76 d\rLnq the dates 1990 and
1991, to a loss of condition of the fer[aIes. Why then only during
tbeir lovtest eig numbers, 24 and 19, respectively and there
supposed 1ow conditlon, do both the fernales have a IOO Z hatching
success ???? Only I other Baobab fenale has had a 100 3 hatching
success in the -16 years, and that being TI/76 during its first
-Lavin(I seasoh.