In polygynous ungulates, the rut imposes constraints on male time budgets
that generate a trade-off between maintenance and reproduction,
leading to a reduction in time spent foraging. As mating activities can
incur substantial somatic costs, males are expected to spend their ‘nonrutting’
time recovering during the breeding season. If the diminution
in time allocated to foraging by males is only a consequence of time
budget constraints, males should keep a similar ratio of time spent foraging
to lying to that observed in the pre-rut, leading to an overall reduction
of these two activities (the ‘foraging constraint’ hypothesis).
Alternatively,