Mother-infant interactions in western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla): Spatial relationships, communication and opportunities for social learning.

Abstract

This study investigated motherϪinfant interactions in lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) with particular focus on the relative role of mothers and infants in creating situations that are potentially conducive to infant social learning. Eleven gorilla motherϪinfant dyads were focally observed in weekly 1-hr sessions for 12 months. Spatial relationships were affected by age as well as by ambient temperature. Although the youngest infant was encouraged by its mother to walk and climb, mothers showed little or no encouragement in other contexts. In contrast, infants were quite interested in their mothers' activities, on some occasions repeated their mother's behavior, and actively encouraged their mothers to share food, play, or follow them. These findings suggest that gorilla infants are more active than their mothers in creating situations that are potentially conducive to the acquisition of knowledge or skills.Over the last 3 decades, the study of motherϪinfant relationships in primates has concentrated on understanding the proximate determinants and adaptive function of interindividual differences in maternal behavior, with particular emphasis on the regulation of contact and proximity between mother and infant (Fairbanks, 1996). Most of this research has been conducted with Old World monkeys, notably macaques, baboons, and vervet monkeys, because of the ease with which large populations of these primates can be studied for long periods of time. Recently, a growing interest in primate communication and cognition has stimulated attention to the exchange of signals and the transmission of information between mothers and infants through social learning pro-

Development of Independence from the Mother in Gorilla gorilla gorilla

“…Increases in independence also seemed to develop differently to captive western gorillas (Maestripieri et al 2002) wherein, e.g., the most significant change in the time offspring spent in contact with the mother occurred during the first year of life, with relatively little change between 2 and 4 yr. In our study, contact with the mother was almost constant until the age of 1 yr, with changes occurring beyond then.…”

Similarities in affiliation and aggression between cross‐fostered rhesus macaque females and their biological mothers

“…It also is important that mechanisms be in place to allow fine tuning of behavior or flexible adjustments in relation to environmental changes, whenever they occur. Such mechanisms may include direct maternal encouragement or discouragement of offspring behavior and/or offspring observational learning from the mother's behavior (e.g., Boesch, 1991;Maestripieri, Ross, & Megna, 2002). Although studies of other mammalian species have shown that mothers may have long-term effects not only on offspring behavior but also on physiological responses to stress (e.g., in rats; Francis, Diorio, Liu, & Meaney, 1999), maternal effects have been poorly investigated in primates, with the exception of transmission of dominance rank (Chapais, 1992).…”

Baby-transfer and other interactions between its mother and grandmother in a captive social group of lowland gorillas

“…Whiten (1999) reported that a gorilla mother in captivity showed behaviors toward her infant that had characteristics similar to the features of human scaffolding: the mother supported and lured her infant at appropriate stages as the infant was developing the ability to crawl or climb. Maestripieri et al (2002) also reported that a young infant gorilla was encouraged by its mother to walk. In the present study, the experienced gorilla mother encouraged her inexperienced young adult daughter to hold the baby.…”