This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day. Primates like many mammals are great at being moms, although like in humans there are variations of what a mom do for their babies. This variation goes from the ones that are not so tight to their babies because fathers take care of most of babies’ care like Brumback night monkeys and ornate titi monkeys. In the other extreme, we have mother’s that spend several years caring and protecting their babies, even when they are juveniles like in howlers, gorillas, and chimpanzees. We also have the moms who had a lot of help by living in large groups where other member of the group can help once babies get some independence like squirrel monkeys, black-capped capuchins, sometimes in howlers, tamarins, and many other primate species. Finally, we also had single moms who give everything for their babies like mouse lemurs and orangutans.
So as in humans, primate moms also had different styles and ways of care and protect their babies. We as another primate and mammal developed an instinct to protect and take care of our babies because biologically, they are an extension of us. However, we also are shaped by our social environments and member of our groups/ societies. Monkeys’ babies as human babies learn from their mothers what to it and where to find it. As in some cases babies steal from their mouth moms their food to try it for themselves. They also learn from their moms how to move and routes to move from one area to another.
When working with local communities, it is common to hear people telling stories of how monkeys moms teach their kids and even correct them when they do something considered wrong. For example, a common story is to hear people say that moms take a stick to hit their babies when they fell from tree. Although in all my years observing primates, I had never seen this, not in squirrel monkeys with which I had spent several hundred of hour, not with red howler monkeys with who I started my behavioral studies and with which I study babies’ behavior, in particular. However, it is still a common story. Probably as a reflection of how similar it is to see grow a monkey baby and a human kid.
So, in this Mother’s Day celebration, let’s celebrate also all primate mothers and their efforts and rights to see their babies grow up!!!
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