Equal care for own versus adopted infant in tufted capuchins (Sapajus spp)
Résumé
This study describes a case of adoption by a
female tufted capuchin (Sapajus spp.) who spontaneously
adopted a newborn immediately after he was abandoned,
then raised him successfully with her own infant. For
7 weeks, we observed the adoptive mother, the adoptee
(3 days old at the time of adoption) and the biological
infant (4 days old) in order to compare the behavior of the
female towards each infant. We focused our attention on
different maternal behavioral patterns: grooming, carrying
and cuddling behaviors, and we also considered suckling
and independent locomotion by the infants. Our results
showed no difference in the active care of the adoptive
mother. The only significant distinction found between the
two infants concerned suckling durations, which were seen
to be longer for the adoptee than for the biological infant.
We suggested that this could be linked to the gender of the
infants, the male adoptee having greater need for milk than
the biological daughter