Overprotection in a monkey way: everything is not like people
Almost everyone knows what hyperprotection is, and few people will argue that it benefits the ward. Oddly enough, the opposite is true for bonobo chimpanzees, and thriving alpha males just become successful, thanks to mom's endless care. Research conducted at the Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. Max Planck in Leipzig, shed light on this natural phenomenon.
Scientists have long noticed that male bonobos living with their mothers have three times more offspring than those who left their "father's house". Mothers not only play the role of matchmakers, looking for brides for their sons, but also provide them with maximum intimacy, driving outsiders away from the newlyweds.
In chimpanzee communities, not everything is as simple as it may seem to the uninitiated. Not all mothers interfere in the lives of their sons and researchers were able to find out why this happens. It turns out that only high—ranking females take care of their offspring - active and domineering, while ordinary females are completely indifferent to the personal life of their sons.
Primatologist Martin Surbek explains it simply — high-ranking females do not care who her son contacts, because she does not want to lose her weight in society because of an "unequal marriage". Yes, that's right — a status female can be seriously lowered if her son contacts a young lady from the very bottom of the monkey society. Therefore, the guys "from a good family" are carefully taken care of by their mothers.
A young male bonobo chimpanzee, using the authority of his mother, can safely eat fruits in the shade of the most spreading tree. If not for his parent, he would have been instantly expelled from a comfortable place. Such trees become real clubs for noble youth, where unbridled orgies and showdowns take place.
To understand whether such a system works in all chimpanzee species or only in bonobos, scientists observed monkeys in different parts of Africa. Bonobo populations were monitored in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and wild chimpanzees in Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Uganda. In all cases, mothers helped their children if they got into a fight, but only female bonobos interfered in the personal life of their sons.
Mothers devote a lot of time to the amorous affairs of their children. They not only find suitable fertile females, but also accompany their sons on dates. Chimpanzees who have merged in a paroxysm of passion can become easy prey to predators or their own relatives, who are often aggressive at the sight of other people's love successes. Mothers watch the process and at the same time drive away the curious and those who came with bad intentions.
The primatologist Surbek notes.
Interestingly, with such care for boys, bonobo mothers have absolutely no desire to somehow participate in the fate of their daughters. They not only do not arrange their marriages, but also do not want to help in any way in the upbringing of offspring. It is also worth noting that young females themselves are not enthusiastic about their mother's company and try to go to another family and not communicate with her anymore.
Scientists have found out that the strategy chosen by mothers has a deep meaning — by accompanying their sons to brides and observing the process, they contribute to the spread of their genes, while not giving birth themselves.
Keywords: Research | Mothers | Monkeys | Family | Scientists | Chimpanzees