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Grandmothers care for orphans in a provisioned troop of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

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Abstract

This study reports cases in which grandmothers and other closely related adult females cared for orphans in the Arashiyama E-troop, a provisioned troop of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). I observed the behavioral patterns of three orphans (aged 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively). The grandmothers cared for two orphans, while three other closely related adult females cared for the rest of the orphans whose grandmothers were absent. These observations differ from those of previous studies that reported that grandmothers were indifferent towards orphans. This intraspecific variation may be attributed to the demographic conditions of the troop in this study, which had only a few related nulliparous adult females, as a result of artificial birth control. In this group, adult females showed decreased fecundity and an increased interbirth interval as they received birth control treatment; thus, in the absence of their own dependent infants, these females may have invested time in the care of related orphans. Although caregiving by grandmothers is believed to be rare or insignificant in primates, this study suggests that grandmothers and other closely related adult females play an important role for orphans in troops with few related adult females.

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Acknowledgments

I appreciate the assistance provided by the staff of Iwatayama Monkey Park. I thank Dr. Juichi Yamagiwa, Dr. Naofumi Nakagawa, and Dr. Michio Nakamura, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, for providing comprehensive guidelines for conducting this study. I am grateful to Dr. Nobuyuki Kutsukake at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Lee Sean and Dr. Toshikazu Hasegawa at the University of Tokyo for reading the initial version of this manuscript and providing valuable comments.

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  1. Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

    Mari Nozaki

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  1. Mari Nozaki
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Correspondence to Mari Nozaki.

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Nozaki, M. Grandmothers care for orphans in a provisioned troop of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Primates 50, 85–88 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0118-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0118-x

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