笼养条件下间蜂猴(Nycticebus intermedius)的母婴关系

MOTHER-INFANTS INTERACTIONS IN CAPTIVE MIDDLE SLOW LORIS (Nycticebus intermedicus)

本文是1990年2—3月在笼养条件下出生的5胎10/只(9(?),1♀)间蜂猴与其母猴之间的行为观察结果:(1)间蜂猴的母婴关系历时约20周,幼猴15—16周断奶,断奶1—2周后又与母猴联系1—2周,主要是相互之间梳理和玩耍;(2)间蜂猴的母婴关系和高等灵长类相比,母猴没有表现出强烈的护仔力;(3)间蜂猴幼仔单独活动时间较早,出生12小时,母猴就将其放在树枝上而自己去活动;(4)母婴之间没有很强的识别力,只要幼仔主动爬向母猴,该母猴都会喂奶,但不帮其梳理;(5)幼猴与母猴的接触方式主要是以腹部相贴为主,转移方式均为幼猴抓住母猴的腹部皮肤和毛随母猴转移。

The paper presents the information of mother-infants interactions of Nycticebus intermedicus in captivity. 5 mother-infants dyads (10 babies and their mothers) were observed. All mothers were got from field and mated in field. The babies were born in February and March in captivity. 1. For the first 2 weeks the mothers were strongly protective, especially during the day. After the 2nd week mothers were not strongly protective. After the 7th week the protective maternal behaviors were only observed during the day. After the 15th week no protective maternal behavior. 2. The first time that rejecting maternal behaviors in different pairs were varied. The earliest time was the 2nd week, and the average time was the 3rd week. At first, rejecting maternal behaviors were only observed at night. 3. At the 12th week the contact time in the pairs became 0 at night, and at the 16.5th week, it became 0 during the day (Fig.1). Of the various forms of contact, ventral-ventral contact was the most common. 4. The mothers were the active par ners for the first 2 weeks, from the 3rd to the 7th week mothers and infants were equally active, after the 7th week the infants were active partners in social behaviors. 5. During the first 8 weeks, only friendly behaviors were observed. After the 8th week both friendly and aggressive behaviors were observed in mother-infants dyads. 6. Mothers left their babies alone very early. After 12 hours of birth mothers left their babies alone and moved about. 7. By comparison with other advanced primates, the mother-infants interactions in Nycticebus intermedicus were relatively loose. The dyads did not have strong discernment, when an infant approached any mother the mother did not prevent its ventral contact with her, and also nursed the infant, but social grooming between them was never observed 8. The duration of mother-infants interactions in Nycticebus intermedicus was about 20 weeks. The infants were weaned at 15-16 weeks old. after 1-2 weeks of weaning, infants contacted with their mother once again for 1-2 weeks. During this period the social behaviors between them were mainly grooming and play.