Barbary Macaques Delight in Paternal Role Beyond Father's Day
Monkeys display paternal behavior: Macaques exhibit a tender and protective attitude towards younger monkeys, acting in a fatherly manner. - Berber monkey males display paternal instincts.
At Germany's largest monkey enclosure, Affenberg-Salem near Lake Constance, male Barbary macaques play an active role in nurturing their offspring, challenges the conventional perception of fatherly duties in the wild.
Roland Hilgartner, the park's director, shares insights about the affectionate care provided by these male monkeys towards their babies. He explains that shortly after birth, while the young ones mostly stay with their mothers, fathers are also present and lend helping hands.
Male Barbary macaques, interestingly, relieve mothers with their tender attitude towards infants, and even engage in bonding activities with other male counterparts through the babies.
With four monkeylings born in the park since April, the expectant fathers are gearing up for more additions post-Father's Day. Hilgartner anticipates the birth of two to three more babies before the end of the year, and notes that determining the sex of the infants takes some time.
As barbary macaques do not form traditional family units, they cohabit in larger groups, with females often associating with multiple males. Paternity identification can be unclear, yet these fathers extend kindness towards all babies within their group.
The enclosure's semi-wild environment replicates the monkeys' natural habitat, allowing visitors to observe their unique behaviors, including expressions of paternal care, closely.
The social structure of these primates promotes tolerance among males, fostering strong social bonds and facilitating infant socialization. This contributes to lowered infanticide risks and better infant survival rates. Paternal care also helps alleviate stress in infants, further boosting overall group health.
To summarize, Barbary macaques at Affenberg-Salem exhibit remarkable paternal devotion, with male monkeys playing an active role in infant care. Their complex social dynamics, characterized by tolerance, bond building, and multi-male participation, ensure infant survival, development, and overall group cohesion, setting them apart from many other primates.
- The employment policy at Affenberg-Salem, the park where the Barbary macaques reside, may need to be updated to reflect the unique role of male Barbary macaques in nurturing their offspring, as this challenges traditional perceptions of fatherly duties.
- In line with the community policy that emphasizes health and wellness, the park introduces educational programs on the science of primatology, highlighting the significance of paternal care in Barbary macaques, as a means of fostering responsible parenting among the park's visitors.
