Rhesus Macaque Mothers Adore Their Babies

Mother rhesus macaque behave like human momsGreenTracker| In a delightful story that investigates the relationships between mother rhesus macaques and their infants, researchers say that their behavior is remarkably similar to what humans do.

Like human parents, rhesus macaque mothers smile at their babies, exaggerate their gestures, modify their voice pitch and kiss them. Rhesus macaque moms demonstrate a variety of behaviors previously considered to be human.

The new findings extend those social skills to macaques, suggesting that the infant monkeys may “have a rich internal world” that we are only now beginning to see.