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Dead-infant carrying by chimpanzee mothers in the Budongo Forest. Primates 2022; 63:497-508. [PMID: 35819534 PMCID: PMC9274961 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-00999-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
It has been suggested that non-human primates can respond to deceased conspecifics in ways that suggest they experience psychological states not unlike humans, some of which could indicate they exhibit a notion of death. Here, we report long-term demographic data from two East African chimpanzee groups. During a combined 40-year observation period, we recorded 191 births of which 68 died in infancy, mostly within the first year. We documented the post-mortem behaviour of the mothers and describe nine occasions where Budongo chimpanzee mothers carried infants for 1-3 days after their death, usually until the body started to decompose. We also observed three additional cases of extended carrying lasting for more than 2 weeks, one of which was followed by the unusual extended carrying of an object and another which lasted 3 months. In each case, the corpses mummified. In addition, we report four instances of recurring dead-infant carrying by mothers, three of whom carried the corpse for longer during the second instance. We discuss these observations in view of functional hypotheses of dead-infant carrying in primates and the potential proximate mechanisms involved in this behaviour.
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Masi S, Austerlitz F, Chabaud C, Lafosse S, Marchi N, Georges M, Dessarps‐Freichey F, Miglietta S, Sotto‐Mayor A, Galli AS, Meulman E, Pouydebat E, Krief S, Todd A, Fuh T, Breuer T, Ségurel L. No evidence for female kin association, indications for extragroup paternity, and sex-biased dispersal patterns in wild western gorillas. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7634-7646. [PMID: 34188840 PMCID: PMC8216920 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterizing animal dispersal patterns and the rational behind individuals' transfer choices is a long-standing question of interest in evolutionary biology. In wild western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), a one-male polygynous species, previous genetic findings suggested that, when dispersing, females might favor groups with female kin to promote cooperation, resulting in higher-than-expected within-group female relatedness. The extent of male dispersal remains unclear with studies showing conflicting results. To investigate male and female dispersal patterns and extragroup paternity, we analyzed long-term field observations, including female spatial proximity data, together with genetic data (10 autosomal microsatellites) on individuals from a unique set of four habituated western gorilla groups, and four additional extragroup males (49 individuals in total). The majority of offspring (25 of 27) were sired by the group male. For two offspring, evidence for extragroup paternity was found. Contrarily to previous findings, adult females were not significantly more related within groups than across groups. Consistently, adult female relatedness within groups did not correlate with their spatial proximity inferred from behavioral data. Adult females were similarly related to adult males from their group than from other groups. Using R ST statistics, we found significant genetic structure and a pattern of isolation by distance, indicating limited dispersal in this species. Comparing relatedness among females and among males revealed that males disperse farer than females, as expected in a polygamous species. Our study on habituated western gorillas shed light on the dispersal dynamics and reproductive behavior of this polygynous species and challenge some of the previous results based on unhabituated groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Masi
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Frédéric Austerlitz
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Chloé Chabaud
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Department of BiologyEcole normale supérieurePSL University ParisParisFrance
| | - Sophie Lafosse
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Nina Marchi
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Present address:
CMPGInstitute for Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BerneBerneSwitzerland
| | - Myriam Georges
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Present address:
UMS2700 2AD ‐ Acquisition et Analyse de Données pour l'Histoire naturelleConcarneauFrance
| | - Françoise Dessarps‐Freichey
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Silvia Miglietta
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Andrea Sotto‐Mayor
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Aurore San Galli
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Ellen Meulman
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | | | - Sabrina Krief
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Angelique Todd
- Dzanga‐Sangha Protected AreasWorld Wide Fund for NatureBanguiCentral African Republic
- Present address:
Fauna & Flora InternationalCambridgeUK
| | - Terence Fuh
- Dzanga‐Sangha Protected AreasWorld Wide Fund for NatureBanguiCentral African Republic
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Wildlife Conservation SocietyGlobal Conservation ProgramBronxNYUSA
- Present address:
World Wide Fund for Nature –GermanyBerlinGermany
| | - Laure Ségurel
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Present address:
Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie EvolutiveCNRS ‐ Université de LyonVilleurbanneFrance
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De Marco A, Cozzolino R, Thierry B. Coping with mortality: responses of monkeys and great apes to collapsed, inanimate and dead conspecifics. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1893826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Arianna De Marco
- Fondazione Ethoikos, Radicondoli (Siena), Italy
- Parco Faunistico di Piano dell’Abatino, Poggio San Lorenzo (Rieti), Italy
| | | | - Bernard Thierry
- Physiologie de La Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
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Monsó S, Osuna-Mascaró AJ. Death is common, so is understanding it: the concept of death in other species. SYNTHESE 2020; 199:2251-2275. [PMID: 34866663 PMCID: PMC8602129 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-020-02882-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Comparative thanatologists study the responses to the dead and the dying in nonhuman animals. Despite the wide variety of thanatological behaviours that have been documented in several different species, comparative thanatologists assume that the concept of death (CoD) is very difficult to acquire and will be a rare cognitive feat once we move past the human species. In this paper, we argue that this assumption is based on two forms of anthropocentrism: (1) an intellectual anthropocentrism, which leads to an over-intellectualisation of the CoD, and (2) an emotional anthropocentrism, which yields an excessive focus on grief as a reaction to death. Contrary to what these two forms of anthropocentrism suggest, we argue that the CoD requires relatively little cognitive complexity and that it can emerge independently from mourning behaviour. Moreover, if we turn towards the natural world, we can see that the minimal cognitive requirements for a CoD are in fact met by many nonhuman species and there are multiple learning pathways and opportunities for animals in the wild to develop a CoD. This allows us to conclude that the CoD will be relatively easy to acquire and, so, we can expect it to be fairly common in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Monsó
- Unit of Ethics and Human-Animal Studies, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaró
- Unit of Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
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Abstract
Although some definitions of thanatology-broadly definable as the study of death and dying-exclude nonhumans as subjects, recognition of the scientific value of studying how other species respond to sick, injured, dying and dead conspecifics appears to be growing. And whereas earlier literature was largely characterized by anecdotal descriptions and sometimes fanciful interpretations, we now see more rigorous and often quantitative analysis of various behaviors displayed towards conspecifics (and sometimes heterospecifics) at various stages of incapacitation, including death. Studies of social insects in particular have revealed chemical cues that trigger corpse management behaviors, as well as the adaptive value of these behaviors. More recent research on other taxonomic groups (including aquatic and avian species, and mammals) has sought to better document these animals' responses to the dying and dead, to identify influencing factors and underlying mechanisms, and to better understand the physiological, emotional, social and psychological significance of the phenomena observed. This special issue presents original short reports, reviews, and full research articles relating to these topics in New World monkeys, Old World monkeys and apes, as well as equids and proboscids. The range of events, data, hypotheses and proposals presented will hopefully enrich the field and stimulate further developments in comparative evolutionary thanatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan.
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Carter AJ, Baniel A, Cowlishaw G, Huchard E. Baboon thanatology: responses of filial and non-filial group members to infants' corpses. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:192206. [PMID: 32269818 PMCID: PMC7137963 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.192206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
What do animals know of death? What can animals' responses to death tell us about the evolution of species' minds, and the origins of humans' awareness of death and dying? A recent surge in interest in comparative thanatology may provide beginnings of answers to these questions. Here, we add to the comparative thanatology literature by reporting 12 cases of group members' responses to infants' deaths, including 1 miscarriage and 2 stillbirths, recorded over 13 years in wild Namibian chacma baboons. Wild baboons' responses to dead infants were similar to other primates: in general, the mother of the infant carried the infants' corpse for varying lengths of time (less than 1 h to 10 days) and tended to groom the corpses frequently, though, as in other studies, considerable individual differences were observed. However, we have not yet observed any corpse carriage of very long duration (i.e. greater than 20 days), which, though rare, occurs in other Old World monkeys and chimpanzees. We hypothesize this is due to the costs of carrying the corpse over the greater daily distances travelled by the Tsaobis baboons. Additionally, in contrast to other case reports, we observed male friends' 'protection' of the infant corpse on three occasions. We discuss the implications of these reports for current questions in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alecia J. Carter
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW, London, UK
| | - Alice Baniel
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Guy Cowlishaw
- The Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK
| | - Elise Huchard
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
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Prolonged care and cannibalism of infant corpse by relatives in semi-free-ranging capuchin monkeys. Primates 2019; 61:41-47. [PMID: 31482322 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00747-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Cannibalism is a quite common behaviour in animals that can have survival value when food is scarce or in the case of overpopulation. Conversely, cannibalism can also increase pathogen transmission and reduce fitness. In primates, some cases of cannibalism are associated with infanticide or are performed by mothers after their newborn has died (filial cannibalism). We report here the first observation of cannibalism, specifically infant cannibalism, in a semi-free-ranging group of brown capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). The baby was likely stillborn, as parts of the cranial bones were missing and no fresh injuries were visible. After half a day of taking care of the dead infant, the mother ate part of the corpse's skin and the highly nutritional viscera, possibly thereby compensating for the physiological costs of pregnancy. After attentively watching his mother's behaviour, the older brother of the dead newborn similarly ate parts of the corpse. Although we cannot rule out idiosyncrasy and vertical social transmission, it is possible that cannibalism is a normal-albeit rare-part of the behavioural repertoire of capuchin monkeys.
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