Nakamichi M, Yamada K
Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
Primates. 2025 Jun 24. doi: 10.1007/s10329-025-01196-2.
We report behavioral responses to four dying and dead adult companions (two aged alpha males, one high-ranking adult male, and one aged, high-ranking female) in a free-ranging, provisioned group of Japanese macaques, with particular interest in whether external, visible bodily damage to the deceased individuals and social affinity with them influenced responses of group members. All but one moved away or stayed away from the dying or dead individuals when they noticed maggots on them, likely indicating an aversion to maggots (Cases 1, 2, and 3). However, some individuals remained near the corpse of an adult male that had no noticeable external damage, and a juvenile female whose mother was his most frequent proximity partner groomed him (Case 4). One adult female who ate maggots while grooming the dying alpha male (Case 1) and most individuals who remained relatively close to another alpha male's rain-drenched dead body (Case 2) were also affiliated with those two alpha males prior to their deaths. We conclude that Japanese monkeys have a strong tendency to avoid dying and dead adult companions already infested with maggots but that some individuals with social affinity with the deceased may contact or at least remain near the latter for some time. We discuss monkeys' possible perceptions when encountering corpses, in relation to non-human primates' awareness of death.
我们报告了在一群自由放养、有食物供应的日本猕猴中，对四只濒死和死亡的成年同伴（两只老年雄性首领、一只高等级成年雄性和一只老年高等级雌性）的行为反应，特别关注已故个体的外部可见身体损伤以及与它们的社会亲和力是否会影响群体成员的反应。除了一只猴子外，其他所有猴子在注意到濒死或死亡个体身上有蛆虫时，都会离开或远离它们，这可能表明对蛆虫有厌恶感（案例1、2和3）。然而，一些个体留在了一具没有明显外部损伤的成年雄性尸体附近，并且一只幼年雌性为其梳理毛发，这只幼年雌性的母亲是与该成年雄性最常接近的同伴（案例4）。一只成年雌性在为濒死的雄性首领梳理毛发时吃了蛆虫（案例1），以及大多数相对靠近另一只被雨水淋湿的雄性首领尸体的个体（案例2），在这两只雄性首领死亡之前也与它们有密切关系。我们得出结论，日本猕猴有强烈的倾向避免接触已被蛆虫感染的濒死和死亡成年同伴，但一些与死者有社会亲和力的个体可能会接触或至少在一段时间内留在死者附近。我们讨论了猴子在遇到尸体时可能的认知，以及与非人类灵长类动物对死亡的认知的关系。
