Non-offspring nursing by a nulliparous pregnant female just before first parturition in free-ranging Japanese macaques.
A nulliparous pregnant Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata, suckled her 1-year-old sister 44 days before her own parturition. Other Japanese macaque yearlings did not hold the nipples of this nulliparous female in their mouths. Although this non-offspring nursing before first parturition did not improve the rate of milk secretion, the nulliparous female may have improved her indirect fitness and her suckling behavior.
Faculty of Environmental and Informational Science, Yokkaichi University, 1200 Kayo-cho, Yokkaichi, Mie 512-8512, Japan. itanaka@yokkaichi-u.ac.jp
Ichirou
I
Tanaka
D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D008251:Macaca / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014741:Video Recording