Abstract
Two rhesus monkey males and two females, born to females caged singly, were exchanged with same-sex infants born to females in a large troop which was held in an enclosure in a different building. The ages of the infants were between 24 and 120 hr. The selected foster mothers (FMs) immediately accepted the foreign infants, allowed them to suckle and treated them as their own offspring. Compared with interactions with previous offspring, the FMs initially tended to be more possessive and restrictive of their foster infants: generally they took longer before they allowed the infants to sit at a distance from them and more readily retrieved them. The foster infants tended to be more active (‘fidgety’) than natural (control) offspring born to the troop. Non-related members of the troop, differentiated between foster and control groups. These troop animals more frequently approached and sat in proximity, often in fur-contact with, touched, groomed, and lipsmacked to, foster infants than control infants. The attractiveness of the fostered infants seemed to be slightly associated with the FMs' dominance rank. The foster infants were therefore viewed by others as having assumed the role afforded by the FMs' rank. Thus both FMs and other troop members recognized the unfamiliarity and novelty of the foster infant but the infants were still accepted into the group. We suggest that the different treatment of the foster infants by the troop may have consequences on the infants' future social development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann, J., 1980.Baboon Mothers and Infants. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Berman, C. M., 1982. The ontogeny of social relationships with group comparisons among infant rhesus monkeys. I. Social networks and differentiation.Anim. Behav., 30: 149–162.
Bullerman, R., 1950. Note on kidnapping by bonnet monkey.J. Mammal., 31: 93–94.
Chalmers, N. R. &J. Locke-Haydon, 1986. Effects on the behaviour of infant common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) of separation from caregivers and of drug-induced reduction in caregiver responsiveness.Develop. Psychobiol., 19: 399–411.
Chapais, B. &S. R. Schulman, 1983. Fitness and female dominance relationships. In:Primate Social Relationships. An Integrated Approach,R. A. Hinde (ed.), Blackwell Scientific Pub., Oxford, pp. 271–278.
Cheney, D. L., 1978. Interactions of immature male and female baboons with adult females.Anim. Behav., 26: 389–408.
Clarke, M. R. &K. E. Glander, 1981. Adoption of howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata).Amer. J. Primatol., 1: 469–472.
Collier, C., S. Kaida, &J. Brody, 1981. Fostering techniques with cotton-top tamarins,Saguinus oedipus oedipus at Los Angeles Zoo.Int. Zoo. Yrbk., 21: 224–225.
Deets, A. C. &H. F. Harlow, 1974. Adoptions of single and multiple infants by rhesus monkey mothers.Primates, 15: 193–203.
Dolhinow, F. &M. G. de May, 1982. Adoption: the importance of infant choice.J. Human Evol., 11: 391–420.
Drickamer, L. C., 1974. A ten year summary of reproductive data for free-rangingMacaca mulatta.Folia Primatol., 21: 61–80.
Dunbar, R. I. M., 1980. Determinants and evolutionary consequences of dominance among female gelada baboons.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 7: 253–265.
Estrada, A. &J. D. Paterson, 1980. A case of adoption in a captive group of Mexican spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi).Primates, 21: 128–129.
Hamilton, W. D., 1964. The genetical theory of social behaviour, I and II.J. Theoret. Biol., 7: 1–53.
Hamilton III, W. J., C. Busse, &K. S. Smith, 1982. Adoption of infant orphan chacma baboons.Anim. Behav., 30: 29–34.
Harlow, H. F., M. K. Harlow, &E. W. Hansen, 1963. The maternal affectional system of rhesus monkeys. In:Maternal Behavior in Mammals,M. Rheingold (ed.), Wiley, New York, pp. 254–281.
Hasegawa, T. &M. Hiraiwa, 1980. Social interaction of orphans observed in a free-ranging troop of Japanese monkeys.Folia Primatol., 33: 129–158.
Hinde, R. A. (ed.), 1983.Primate Social Relationships. An Integrated Approach. Blackwell Scientific Pub., Oxford.
Holman, S. D. &R. W. Goy, 1980. Behavioral and mammary responses of adult female rhesus to strange infants.Horm. Behav., 14: 348–357.
---- & ----, in press. Sexually dimorphic transitions revealed in the relationships of yearling rhesus monkeys following the birth of siblings.Int. J. Primatol.
&D. Yoshihara, 1984. Permanent adoption effected in a captive rhesus monkey group.Int. J. Primatol., 5: 349.
Hooley, J. M., 1983. Primiparous and multiparous mothers and their infants. In:Primate Social Relationships. An Integrated Approach,R. A. Hinde (ed.), Blackwell Scientific Publ., Oxford, pp. 142–145.
Hrdy, S. B., 1976. Care and exploitation of non-human primate infants by conspecifics other than the mother.Adv. Study Behav., 6: 101–158.
Kaufman, I. C. &L. A. Rosenblum, 1969. The waning of the mother-infant bond in two species of macaques. In:Determinants of Infant Behaviour IV,B. Foss (ed.), Methuen, London, pp. 41–59.
Kummer, H., 1968.Social Organization of Hamadryas Baboons. Bibliotheca Primatologica, Vol. 6, Karger, Basel.
Lee, P. C., 1983. Caretaking of infants and mother-infant relationships. In:Primate Social Relationships. An Integrated Approach,R. A. Hinde (ed.), Blackwell Scientific Pub., Oxford, pp. 145–151.
Lippold, L. K., 1979. Adoption in the douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus).Amer. J. Phys. Anthropol., 50: 459.
Locke-Haydon, J., 1984. Injections of a neuroleptic produces changes in caregiver-infant interactions in marmosets.Behav. Proc. 9: 261–269.
Palthe, T. V. W. &J. A. R. A. M. van Hooff, 1965. A case of the adoption of an infant chimpanzee by a suckling foster chimpanzee.Primates, 16: 231–234.
Sade, D. S., K. Cushing, R. Cushing, J. Dunale, A. Figueroa, J. R. Kaplan, C. Lauer, D. Rhodes, &J. Schneider, 1976. Population dynamics in relation to social structure on Cayo Santiago.Yrbk. Phys. Anthropol., 20: 253–262.
Thierry, B. &J. R. Anderson, 1986. Adoption in anthropoid primates.Int. J. Primatol., 7: 191–216.
Waal de, F. B. M., 1986. Class structure in a rhesus monkey group: the interplay between dominance and tolerance.Anim. Behav., 34: 1033–1040.
Weisbard, C. &R. W. Goy, 1976. Effects of parturition and group composition on competitive drinking order in stumptail macaques (Macaca arctoides).Folia Primatol., 25: 95–121.
Welker, C., 1977. Adoptionen beiMacaca fascicularis.Verh. Dtsch. Zool. Gesellschaft., 70: 338.
Wolfe, L. D., 1981. A case of male adoption in a troop of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata fuscata). In:Primate Behaviour and Sociobiology,A. B. Chiarelli &R. S. Corruccini (eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 156–160.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Holman, S.D., Goy, R.W. Responses of foster-mothers and troop members to adopted newborns in a captive group of rhesus monkeys. Primates 29, 343–352 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02380957
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02380957