Assessment of danger to themselves and their infants by rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) mothers.

This study investigated whether rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) mothers distinguish between what is dangerous to themselves and what is dangerous to their infants. The behavioral interactions between 11 mother-infant pairs and other females living in their group were analyzed in the 1st 2 months of infant life. Mothers behaved as if they perceived higher ranking females as dangerous to both themselves and their infants, lower ranking females as dangerous to their infants but not to themselves, and their young daughters as relatively harmless to both themselves and their infants. Changes in maternal intolerance of infant handling between the 1st and 2nd months covaried with changes in the probability of infant harassment rather than with the temporal pattern of aggression received by mothers. The possible cognitive mechanisms underlying parental recognition of infant's special needs are discussed in the light of comparative evidence from other mammalian species.