Scientists from the University of Pisa, led by Elisabetta Palagi, have described a rare case of cannibalism among monkeys they saw at a safari park near the Czech city of Dvur Králové. The results of the research were published in a scientific journal. Primates .
We are talking about a female drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus – monkey family, mandrill genus) named Kumasi, who gave birth to a cub on August 24, 2020, and a week later zoo staff found it dead. She then interacted with the dead boy with her monkey relatives for two days. On the first day, the monkey took the baby in her arms, carried it and combed its hair. The dominant male of the group named Chepo, adult females and young males were in contact with the corpse. Many sniffed the pup and tried to get his attention and attention. Another man tried to steal the body of a newborn baby, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
Kumasi continued to carry the dead cub with him, but in the evening he jumped onto a branch and knocked him down. Then a young male Obudu approached the corpse and started dragging it from place to place, after which Kumasi beat the corpse from it. Then the monkey began to eat the baby’s head and stomach. In doing so, he drove Obuda away and avoided a young woman named Kara, who also took care of the corpse. Three days later, Kumasi continued to eat the cub’s body and ate it almost completely. None of his relatives touched the baby’s remains. As a result, the zookeepers decided to remove them from the enclosure.
Study author Elisabetta Palagi explains that the female carried her cub for two days or mourned because she didn’t want to accept that she had died. Kumasi constantly brought his face closer to the corpse’s eyes, trying to avert his gaze.
“Monkeys and great apes often look at their dead babies’ face that way, perhaps expecting to see eye movements. When moms don’t get any feedback from the baby, it’s likely something is wrong,” Palaji says.
Researchers believe Kumasi has good reason to eat its dead cub. According to them, the monkey ate its child to replenish the energy expended during pregnancy.
“Given the incredible reproductive energy cost of primate mothers, cannibalism can be considered an adaptive evolutionary trait that helps the mother survive pregnancy,” explains Elisabetta Palaggi.
According to him, this could increase the chances of reproductive success in the future. “The fact that the mother did not share the carcass with other members of the group supports the nutritional benefit hypothesis of cannibalism: the other inhabitants of the enclosure did not need additional nutrients,” says Palaji.
Researchers believe age may play a role in the offspring’s ingestion. The younger the primate, the less likely it is that the mother’s attachment to the infant will become strong enough to prevent the mother’s cannibalism.
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