Female Monkey Devours Her Own Baby at European Zoo

A female monkey at a zoo in Europe resorted to cannibalism by consuming her own deceased infant. The incident took place at the Dvůr Králové safari park in Czechia, where Kumasi, a female drill, gave birth to a son in August 2020. Unfortunately, the infant passed away a mere eight days after birth, leading to a series of bizarre behaviors exhibited by Kumasi.

According to a recent publication in the journal Primates on June 27, Kumasi carried the lifeless body of her baby for a period of two days, displaying an unusual level of care and grooming toward the corpse. Astonishingly, she then proceeded to consume the majority of the remains before the zookeepers intervened and removed the remaining parts.

Researchers who documented this unprecedented behavior stated, “The mother maintained high levels of grooming after the infant’s death. Both the mother and other group members interacted with the dead baby by trying to engage its gaze. Two days after the death, the mother started to eat the corpse until it was almost completely consumed; there was no sharing with other group members.”

This incident marks the first recorded instance of post-mortem carrying and cannibalism of an infant within a captive drill group. Drills, scientifically known as Mandrillus leucophaeus, are closely related to mandrills and baboons, and they inhabit the regions of Central Africa. Living in large social groups, comprising up to 100 individuals, drills are led by a dominant male who fathers the majority of the young. Regrettably, drills are currently classified as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List, with only approximately 4,000 individuals remaining in the wild. Consequently, they are among the highest-priority Conservation species among African primates.

The researchers also highlighted Kumasi’s attempts to establish eye contact with her deceased offspring, a common behavior among primates and apes. Elisabetta Palagi, a primate biologist at the University of Pisa in Italy and co-author of the study, explained, “Monkeys and apes often inspect the face of their dead babies like this, possibly to perceive the eye movements. When the mothers do not receive any feedback from the baby, it probably means that something is going wrong.”

The act of consuming the infant’s corpse, although horrifying to humans, might serve as an evolutionary advantage for Kumasi. Palagi elaborated, “If we consider the incredible reproductive energy investment of primate mothers, cannibalism can be considered an adaptive evolutionary trait that helps the mother to recover energy after gestation.” This behavior could potentially enhance her chances of reproductive success in the future. Additionally, the fact that Kumasi did not share the remains with other group members supports the hypothesis of the nutritional benefits of cannibalism.

In the case of the drill monkey, the young age of the deceased infant may have played a role in the mother’s cannibalistic behavior. Palagi explained, “The younger the baby, the less likely the mother-infant attachment has become sufficiently strong to prevent maternal cannibalism on the dead infant.”

While this carrying and cannibalism behavior has never been observed before in drills, similar actions have been reported in other primate species. In February, a study published in the journal Primates described how a capuchin monkey mother carried the body of her child for hours after its death. This incident serves as a reminder of the complexity and diversity of animal behavior. The researchers hope that further studies will shed light on the underlying motivations behind such behaviors, ultimately contributing to the Conservation efforts for endangered primate species like the drill.

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