Mother-immature offspring relationships in Japanese macaques

Abstract

In reviewing mother-immature offspring in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), this article first characterizes Japanese macaque birth as a quiet and solitary event, but one which does not occur in isolation from other group members. It then summarizes mother-infant relationships during their first year after birth, during which initially completely dependent infants gradually develop independence from their mothers. It also describes the relationships between maternal aggression and infant dependence, and maternal dorsal carriage. While the influence of factors such as mother's parity and dominance rank and infant's sex on motherinfant relationships has been studied, individual maternal styles might be a stronger influence on mother-infant interactions. The article also describes flexible and appropriate responses of mothers to their injured or congenitally disabled infants. Adoptions of dependent infants by non-mother females, and adult male-care of infants are reviewed. Finally, the importance of two types of studies for more fully understanding mother-immature offspring relationships in nonhuman primates is stressed; namely, empirical studies with clear aims, hypotheses and data collection methods, and careful record-keeping of rarely observed behaviors or events.