another look at Aslan sex ratios

[Ref00000]

that's a lot of cat-meat for the worms, alright.
have we factored in litter size?
I don't really see the high numbers are a problem for Aslan, however.
Those Who Live By The Claw... and all that.
if 'losing that many' is culturally standard, and the real business of continuing the Aslan race is accomplished by the ruling cabal of females covering the spread?
where's the harm? a couple hundred million more targets for Players to shoot, really.

 

[rancke]

that's a lot of cat-meat for the worms, alright.
have we factored in litter size?
I don't really see the high numbers are a problem for Aslan, however.
Those Who Live By The Claw... and all that.
if 'losing that many' is culturally standard, and the real business of continuing the Aslan race is accomplished by the ruling cabal of females covering the spread?
where's the harm? a couple hundred million more targets for Players to shoot, really.

Not really, no. The canon on Aslan culture makes it clear that Aslans go out of their way to avoid mass deaths. There are various forms of ritual war designed to be less lethal or to involve limited numbers. And the loser abides by the result instead of aiming their weapons at the winner and telling him to buzz off.

The reason is easy to surmise. A clan that wins a phyrric vistory will not enjoy its new-won lands long before being attacked by a fresh third party, and it doesn't profit a clan to fend off a takeover attempt if the losses means that they will be easy meat for the next attacker.

Also, with interstellar transportation costs being what they are, only a tiny fraction of each generation would be serving on the front lines.

Hans

 

[Ref00000]

so, simply read the 3-1 ratio as a natal ratio, and assume no 'mass deaths'.
if one of those three females 'takes vows' to the clans and never breeds, you're already back to a 2-1 effective ratio in the population.

I hadn't considered the numbers, as you presented them, but a 'reasonable' version of the warlike culture for Aslan still kills of the weak and stupid.

 

[gylesw]

Another angle

Hiya.

Given animals can change sex ratios because of environmental factors (in glut doe drop more stags, in famine more does, and this is caused by environmental stress, not the deer making any decision, obviously), and given that there is extreme land hunger, what if the 3:1 ratio is an ESS because Aslan groups that have too many males as a whole have less reproductive success than other, as they become unstable and devoted to war and acquisition of land?

Remember, evolution can do weird things; hyena have female dominated packs and the females have so much testosterone that their external genitalia resemble the males, and they actual give birth via the birth canal inside their pseudo penis with massive fatality rates for first time mother and their kits. But this is still an ESS as the dominance a successful female has is going to give more offspring even counting fatalities. Some pack animals, like wolves, only normally have one breeding pair.

A sophont species with a bellicose nature and land hunger having 3:1 sex ratio and many non-reproductive females as an ESS is easy enough to accept.

And it CAN change.

Well populated Aslan world with land pressure = 3:1 ratio.

New territory with unclaimed land = 1:1 ratio as stress factors are not there.

Aslan accept this as they know if they have too many males society disintegrates.

Oh, also, making Aslan males STR 10+ (i.e. 9 on 2d6 +1) means 10/36 are male and it fits the sexual differentiation between males and females well. Close enough to 3:1 ratio for game play and makes Aslan males as kick-ass as they should be.

 

[Sir Brad]

Given the Instinctual drives of the Aslan, one minimally socially productive male to three socially productive Females is a good ratio, since if the raito was closer it would be bad for the next generation as Mommy would spend too much time carrying Daddys ass to provide for the kids.

with the Aslan the Male is used for Protection and Stud services where the Female dose all the useful work. doesn't matter if its in a High Stellar Society or if its on the Savannah poking heard animals with sharpened sticks.

 

[rancke]

Given the Instinctual drives of the Aslan, one minimally socially productive male to three socially productive Females is a good ratio, since if the raito was closer it would be bad for the next generation as Mommy would spend too much time carrying Daddys ass to provide for the kids.

with the Aslan the Male is used for Protection and Stud services where the Female dose all the useful work. doesn't matter if its in a High Stellar Society or if its on the Savannah poking heard animals with sharpened sticks.

That's a very distorted view of Aslan gender roles. Aslan males and females share the work in Aslan society. Females do some work, males do other work.


Hans

 

[Sir Brad]

In Aslan Society the Male Do things, the Female Get things Done.

the Male Leads Families, Prides and Clans, Fight (be it to protect or to conquer others), Seek-out new lands and resources, Philosophise and Create art.

the Females provide for the Families, Prides and Clans, Develop lands and Put resources to use, Explore the Scientific Universe and Create there own art.

just how things are.

 

[rancke]

In Aslan Society the Male Do things, the Female Get things Done.

In Aslan society males do male things and females do female things.

Just how things are.


Hans

 

[FreeTrav]

Oh, I wasn't thinking for a minute that anyone was saying "you can't do it that way"; at most, I was seeing that perhaps some of the readers didn't realize that there was at least a veneer of Real Science tied to my mechanism.

Nor was I specifically looking to make it a "Dirty Secret" - but, yes, it would be, if the other sophonts (alien to the Aslan) actually cared. I'm not convinced they would; they'd just see "3:1" and shrug and think "...it works for them...". Maybe the Aslan would be reluctant to allow alien biologists to learn that much about their biology, but if they interact with those aliens, I think that that knowledge will eventually get out, because, e.g., accidents requiring emergency medical intervention.

Yeah, it can provide fodder for adventure on several levels. While I wasn't specifically looking for that outcome... I can't see it as a bad thing.

 

[Sir Brad]

In Aslan society males do male things and females do female things.

Just how things are.


Hans

True but Male things tend to be "Doing" things, where Female things tend to be "Getting Things Done" things.