Understanding mother-infant relationships in zoo animals

Abstract

Understanding maternal behavior and infant development of wild animals living in modern zoos is essential for zoos to achieve conservation which is one of their primary roles, including successful reproduction in captivity. Moreover, zoos could provide us with the opportunities to understand the diversity of mother-infant relationships among mammals. For example, like those in the wild, giraffe and black rhinoceros mothers in captivity show hider and follower types, respectively. Moreover, our detailed observations at zoos have shown that giraffe mothers tend to be very responsible for nursing interactions with their calves, whereas rhinoceros mothers have tolerant attitudes toward their calves. Unlike ungulates, infants of primates such as Japanese monkeys and gorillas spend most of their time in contact with their mothers during the early stages of development owing to their clinging abilities, which decrease with increasing infant age. Seeing zoo animals directly as well as learning of their behavior, based on behavioral studies on them would help zoo visitors develop an interest in zoo animals and their counterparts in the wild.View full abstract