PrimatesPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-29DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01190-8
Martina Francesconi, Alice Galotti, Kerstin Ludmann, Elisabetta Palagi
{"title":"Late bloomers in play: social isolation and playful skills in an adult bonobo.","authors":"Martina Francesconi, Alice Galotti, Kerstin Ludmann, Elisabetta Palagi","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01190-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01190-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social play requires communicative abilities that start developing since the first phases of life. Due to their paedomorphic nature, bonobos (Pan paniscus) tend to maintain a playful attitude also in adulthood. Here, we present the case of an adult bonobo (Congo) that has never had any contact with conspecifics in the first 40 years of life. In 2023, Congo underwent an introduction protocol at the Wilhelma Zoo. Prior to the data collection period, he had spent 8 months within the group. The aim was evaluating Congo's playful social competence and his ability to react in a resilient way to others' stimuli. The play sessions involving Congo and two juveniles (CPSs) were compared with play sessions occurring in other adult-juvenile pairs (OPSs). Compared to OPSs, CPSs were shorter and more punctuated by grooming pauses that were totally absent during OPSs. Despite increased grooming, CPSs had a higher risk of escalation into overt aggression from Congo frequently screaming during the interaction. Unlike other adults, Congo never rapidly replicated the partners' playful facial displays, a phenomenon known as rapid facial mimicry. Despite Congo appearing to struggle to manage social play, he responded to other's invitations, thus indicating a presence of play motivation. Albeit being just a case report, our findings emphasize the importance of adult play as a mechanism for social integration, even in individuals entirely unfamiliar with its nuances. Although animals engage in play early in life, it is never too late to play the game and strengthen social bonds.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":"335-341"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144009003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-06DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01195-3
Federica Amici, Justine Anastasia Pinnecke, Jacques Prieur, Katja Liebal
{"title":"Multiparous and primiparous mothers partially differ in how they allocate maternal behaviour in captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).","authors":"Federica Amici, Justine Anastasia Pinnecke, Jacques Prieur, Katja Liebal","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01195-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01195-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In primates, mothers are crucial for the survival and integration of young offspring into their social group. Usually, mothers adjust their behaviour to the offspring's age and needs, but maternal experience might modulate developmental changes in such allocation. In this study, we conducted behavioural observations on 7 mother-offspring dyads of captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to assess whether multiparous mothers adjusted to the changing requirements of their offspring differently from primiparous mothers, and better facilitated their social integration into the group. Our results showed that, compared to primiparous mothers, multiparous mothers were more likely in body contact with younger offspring and less with older offspring. However, maternal experience neither predicted nor mediated how likely mothers were to start or end body contact, nor did it mediate developmental changes in the offspring's social behaviour toward other group members. Our study provides preliminary evidence of some limited differences in how primiparous and multiparous mothers allocate maternal behaviour in western lowland gorillas.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":"355-365"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12202552/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144234945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01191-7
Tatiane Valença, Emiliane Cardoso, Tiago Falótico
{"title":"Predatory attack on a bearded capuchin monkey by a Boa constrictor.","authors":"Tatiane Valença, Emiliane Cardoso, Tiago Falótico","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01191-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01191-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Predation influences foraging strategies, as primates must avoid being preyed on while feeding. Some populations of capuchin monkeys are the only neotropical primates that customarily use the ground for nut-cracking. This time-consuming and focus-demanding foraging activity may increase susceptibility to predation events. However, there is currently no data on predation in tool-using Sapajus populations. We report a snake's (Boa constrictor) predatory attack on a bearded capuchin monkey (S. libidinosus) in a tool-using population, as well as the other monkeys' alarm calling and threat displays. We confirm these monkeys' predation vulnerability and discuss how they balance foraging requirements with predation risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":"349-353"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12202570/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144021121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01189-1
Ai-Ching Meng, Tien Hsieh, Sheng-Shan Lu, Hsi-Cheng Ho
{"title":"Predation of Macaca cyclopis on flying bees.","authors":"Ai-Ching Meng, Tien Hsieh, Sheng-Shan Lu, Hsi-Cheng Ho","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01189-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01189-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This report documents the predation of Macaca cyclopis (Taiwanese macaque) on the flying adults of ground-nesting leaf-cutting bee, Trachusa formosanum. With observations and video recordings of an incident in the wild, we detail how adult and juvenile macaques capture and consume bees during their flight, with varying success rates. Seizing the correct timing when the bees fly low to approach their nests is the key skill for bee hunting. This predation occurs during the breeding season of T. formosanum, when the bees' nests are spatially concentrated, making them a spatially and temporally predictable food source for the macaques. The findings highlight that M. cyclopis do exploit seasonal high-protein food resources, and provide new insights into their dietary habits, with potential implications for understanding foraging-relevant social learning in primates. Further studies are needed to explore the potential nutritional significance of this behavior and its role in macaque reproductive strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":"343-347"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143980544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01194-4
Larissa P Silva, Camila Rezende, Fabiano R de Melo, Artur Andriolo
{"title":"New records of the southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides) in Serra da Mantiqueira through thermal drones.","authors":"Larissa P Silva, Camila Rezende, Fabiano R de Melo, Artur Andriolo","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01194-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01194-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Muriquis (Brachyteles sp.) are endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest; its genus is divided into two species, the northern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus), and the southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides), both assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The endangered status of muriquis is associated with habitat loss, fragmentation, hunting, and other anthropogenic actions, confining the species to fragments, mostly, in protected areas. One of these important protected areas is in the Serra da Mantiqueira, the Environmental Protection Area Serra da Mantiqueira, that has a sizable continuous remnant of the Atlantic Forest with a high degree of biological diversification, where both species of muriquis occur. This designation highlights the region as one of the most critical regions for the genus Brachyteles. Nonetheless, new records may fill gaps in the distribution limit between the two muriquis species, identifying whether there is a possible barrier or possible overlapping area. However, recording and estimating primate populations over large areas through standard field techniques, such as linear transects, can be costly in terms of time and financial resources. In addition, given its altitude gradient, the Serra da Mantiqueira region is remote and difficult to access for systematic biodiversity surveys. Thus, aerial surveys were carried out using thermal sensors attached to drones, which made it possible to record two new groups of southern muriquis in Serra da Mantiqueira. Thus, we confirm that this new method represents an effective way to survey highly threatened primates.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":"367-374"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144079698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Population genetics of captive spider monkeys in Japan for ex situ conservation.","authors":"Haruka Kitayama, Atsushi Shirai, Kei Nemoto, Yuko Tawa, Koshiro Watanuki, Takashi Hayakawa","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01192-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01192-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spider monkeys (Ateles sp.) are among the most endangered primates in tropical forests, ranging from Central to South America. The current consensus on their classification is split into 7 species. However, species identification of Ateles individuals is challenging because their intraspecific and interspecific morphological traits gradually change and diversify among species, especially in pelage color and patterning. This problem makes it challenging to perform conservation in both wild (in situ) and captive (ex situ) populations. Currently, there are approximately 150 captive spider monkeys in around 30 Japanese zoos, reflecting more than 120 years of generational changes. To understand the genetic structure of the Ateles population in Japan and promote its ex situ conservation, we performed a population genetic analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted from 127 individuals using their fresh hair follicles. We determined the nucleotide sequences of three mitochondrial DNA regions and the nucleotide lengths of nine nuclear microsatellite loci in all individuals. Our analysis revealed the maternal lineages of four species (A. chamek, A. fusciceps, A. geoffroyi, and A. hybridus) from mitochondrial DNA analysis, and we identified novel haplotypes not previously reported. By comparing the maternal lineages of each individual with zoos' breeding records, we discovered at least 29 hybrid individuals, comprising about 20% of the current Japanese population. The results of the nuclear microsatellite analysis confirmed the genetic structure of hybrid individuals and suggested the presence of additional hybrids that could not be identified based on maternal lineage analysis and zoos' breeding records alone. These findings can contribute to the more appropriate management of spider monkeys toward ex situ conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":"375-389"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144046147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01199-z
Rahmadi Sitompul, Kaniwa Berliani, Stanislav Lhota, Uli Kozok, Julius Paolo Siregar
{"title":"Indigenous names matter, too: Tapanuli orangutan names reflect local community perceptions.","authors":"Rahmadi Sitompul, Kaniwa Berliani, Stanislav Lhota, Uli Kozok, Julius Paolo Siregar","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01199-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-025-01199-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding the meanings of names given to endangered animals is important because these names might influence how local communities perceive the animals. Influenced by name connotations, these perceptions may shape how communities support or oppose our conservation efforts. Conducted across nine villages within the Batang Toru ecosystem, this research involved 90 respondents. The study incorporated in-depth interviews and content analysis using a qualitative approach. Our findings reveal five local names for the Tapanuli orangutan: 'orang utan,' 'nihagatua,' 'mawas,' 'maos,' and 'juhut bontar.' The term 'juhut bontar,' which translates to bloody meat, is significantly linked to the perception of orangutans as bushmeat, reflecting an attitude not consistent with species conservation. Consequently, we recommend discontinuing this term in local conservation campaigns. Our sample size was insufficient to conclusively determine whether non-indigenous names with potentially positive connotations due to the meaning 'person of the forest' (i.e., 'orang utan' and 'nihagatua') or rather indigenous names with neutral meaning (i.e., 'mawas' and 'maos') support pro-conservation attitudes.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01196-2
M Nakamichi, K Yamada
{"title":"Responses to dying and dead adult companions in a free-ranging, provisioned group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata).","authors":"M Nakamichi, K Yamada","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01196-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-025-01196-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>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.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144476430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PrimatesPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1007/s10329-025-01197-1
Hisayo Suzuki, Michael A Huffman, Yukio Takahata
{"title":"Reorganization of female dominance relations after group fission of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in Arashiyama based on Kawamura's principles.","authors":"Hisayo Suzuki, Michael A Huffman, Yukio Takahata","doi":"10.1007/s10329-025-01197-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10329-025-01197-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In 1986, Japanese macaques of the Arashiyama B group fissioned, with high-ranking females forming the dominant E group and the middle- and low-ranking females forming the subordinate F group (Suzuki et al. in Primates 64:79-90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-022-01024-x , 2023). In 1988, we recorded the dominant-subordinate interactions among adult females in both groups and analyzed them to clarify how they reorganized their dominance relations. The two groups showed contrasting results. Two years after group fission, the past dominance relations among female kin-groups had been largely maintained in E group, whereas the dominance relations among females in F group had been significantly reorganized, with the females from some kin-groups dispersing into various rank positions within the group. In both the E and F groups, the kin-related dyads within the 2nd degree of maternal relatedness (consanguinity) (r ≥ 0.25) tended to follow Kawamura's principles (Kawamura in Primates 1:149-156, 1958), but a considerable number of dyads did not. Such deviations from the principles seemed to derive from multiple factors: past rank reversals between the mothers and daughters, social influences from high-ranking males, and changes in the membership of kin-related females following group fission; for example, disappearances of or separations from mothers. Once rank changes were fixed, however, the relations of the newly emerged mother-daughter and sister dyads again reflected Kawamura's principles.</p>","PeriodicalId":20468,"journal":{"name":"Primates","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144476429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}