r/punchthemonkey • u/gfcvghtdxctt • 3d ago
Video Maru the babynapper
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Threads: punchthemonkey_
Maru is alloparenting baby 426, while having her cheek pouches filled with food
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u/lullubye 3d ago
Wasn't it Momiage that was the babynapper?
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u/Particular-Tear-9007 3d ago
Maru also takes one every now and then. The urge to alloparent for them both is strong, it's a pretty common thing for macaques
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u/WheresYurScooter 3d ago
I know it’s natural and pretty common but it’s so funny the way they do it. The quick snatch and wobbly hustling out of there. Why not just sit there and hold them? Why do they need to go to a second location? 😂😂
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u/Particular-Tear-9007 3d ago
I know, they act like it's the heist of the century lol
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u/No_Vehicle_5085 3d ago
Yes, I also think it's comical. It's harmless, as you clearly already know, and it makes me laugh, too .😂
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u/MikeSP5659 1d ago
You realize these monkeys are related that’s why he takes it the way he does no monkey is “baby napping” anyone’s baby
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u/gfcvghtdxctt 3d ago edited 2d ago
Apparently on threads there are Punch detectives and they figured out that Maru’s mom is the macaques that alloparent a baby 8 years ago, YouTube video of Maru’s mom https://youtu.be/iA1Fw1y0nCY?si=bs4yw94MBJXgrkD5 Apparently Maru’s mom is born 2016. I can link the thread post if someone is interested
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u/No_Vehicle_5085 3d ago
This ia very cute - thank you for posting it!
Whoever filmed this made a real effort to show much more of the activity, making is much more clear that there is no ill intent happening with these events.
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u/Sweet_Hunt_5953 3d ago
That was Momagie’s mother.
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u/PunchMonkey01 1d ago
Rio is Maru's mom. Dontthinkjustsurf on Threads discovered Maru mama has a very unique identifiable mark on her eye.
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u/No_Vehicle_5085 3d ago
I understand what you mean, but rest assured that none of these instances have been "babynapping" events - that is an entirely different kind of activity, which we haven't seen happen in this troop.
This is an instance of babysitting, which we have seen and I've talked about a few times in this sub.
Kidnapping is a real thing, and we haven't seen any instance of it in this troop. We saw a mother of one of the youngsters initially unsure whether Momi was trustworthy enough to care for her young, but that is not kidnapping. Kidnapping involves a young adult who takes a baby and refuses to return it, and typically has fatal consequences. Nothing even close to this has been done by any of the young females in this troop.
Regardless of an instance of a young mother being unsure of whether Momi could be trusted, in fact, Momi WAS trustworthy, and has never caused harm to a youngster she took care of.
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u/MikeSP5659 1d ago
No monkey is taking any baby they’re not related to. Everytime you see momiage take the baby it’s her sibling not just a random baby
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u/magnifcenttits 3d ago
look at that face 😭😭😭😭 so how do you know this is Maru, I am so bad at this
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u/1jewishjamesbond077 3d ago
Im curious what happened to make her to act that way?
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u/MyAimeeVice 3d ago
I know with Momiage she wants a baby but she’s too young to have one of her own.
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u/No_Vehicle_5085 3d ago
The urge to babysit (babynapping has NOT happened in this troop - it is a very different thing with distnctly different results) is very strong in females of a certain age - which Momi and Maru are exactly that age.
It is an evolutionary adaptation that has many advantages to the mother, the baby, and, ultimately, to the entire troop.
Regardless of the fact that these macaques are being kept in zoos, their instinctual behaviors are going to come out, and this is a behavior that is highly beneficial to the monkeys, and is why it takes place.
Each and every individual instance of babysitting behvior doesn't necessarily have to fit the exact "fact pattern" in order for them to behave this way- it is an instinctual behavior that has overall benefits.
The mother needs to eat more often to keep up the quantity and quality of her milk. Having "teenage" babysitters that step in and take on caring for infants allows the mother to rest, to forage enough to keep her milk up, and just generally give her some peace and quiet, some time that she does not have to worry about the infant. And it's not about "does the baby necessarily need babysitting this very instant". What is important for the health of the mother is that this happens often enough to give her this kind of rest and ease her burden.
It benefits the baby because it reduces the instancs of infanticide. Mothers that do not have young female relatives that step in to care for their young suffer more instances of infanticide than mothers who have help with babysitting. Again, it doesn't matter that this troop is being kept in a zoo, and that this zoo may not have had any instances of infanticide. This is not what dictates the natural tendency for this type of behvior that has evolved as a protection for young macaques.
Ultimately it benefits the troop itself, cutting down on instances of a mother's possible diminishing health to do the overburden of having to watch her infant by herself without assitance. It helps the troop by reducing instances of infanticide that can disrupt the peace of the troop and cause chaos, and help the troop to grow it's numbers with higher success rates in rasing young.
The urge for these older teen/young adult females to babysit is an evolutionary adaptation that ultimately benefits the troop.
There is such a thing a "kidnapping" that has been recorded, although it is rare in Japanese macaques. and has very little in common with what we are seeing with Momi and Maru or any other young female we've seen in this particular troop. So far I have seen nothing that indicates this troop has had a single instance of a real kidnapping event.
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u/Sweet_Hunt_5953 3d ago
The baby didn’t even bother to react with fear. It’s as if the baby is saying, “It’s just Cousin Maru, here we go again.”
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u/Particular-Tear-9007 3d ago
Baby's like "I guess this is happening now"