How Do Animals Avoid Inbreeding?

Inbreeding avoidance occurs in nature by at least four mechanisms: kin recognition, dispersal, extra-pair/extra-group copulations, and delayed maturation/reproductive suppression. Of note, these mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and more than one can occur in a population at a given time.

How do animals know not to mate with their siblings?

They use pheromones on their naughty bits to detect who is the most closely related to them and who's the farthest sort of relation. The females who will actually smell the males and decide "he seems perhaps a bit of a close relative.

How do animals keep from inbreeding?

Mechanisms. Inbreeding avoidance mechanisms have evolved in response to selection against inbred offspring. Inbreeding avoidance occurs in nature by at least four mechanisms: kin recognition, dispersal, extra-pair/extra-group copulations, and delayed maturation/reproductive suppression.