Differences in placentophagia in relation to reproductive status in the california mouse (Peromyscus californicus)

ABSTRACT Parturient females ingest placenta in most mammalian species, whereas fathers may do so in species in which both parents provide care for their offspring. To determine if the propensity to eat placenta varies with reproductive status in the biparental California mouse, we presented placenta to virgin (housed with a same‐sex pairmate), expectant (pregnant with their first litter), and multiparous adult males and females. Liver was presented identically, 3–7 days later, as a control. Multiparous females were more likely to eat placenta than expectant and virgin females (p‐values