Nature & Environment

Monkey midwife helps to deliver baby

By T.K. Randall
February 12, 2013 ·  8 comments

Image Credit: Robert Griner Birth in humans is a particularly long and painful affair that requires the presence and services of a qualified midwife. In the animal kingdom most species have it somewhat easier, in the case of monkeys birth can take place within just ten minutes, but researchers observing black snub-nosed monkeys in China recently came across something unexpected that could rewrite the book on what we know about them.

As the researchers watched, a second monkey had approached the mother giving birth as the head of the baby started to emerge. This monkey 'midwife' appeared to provide support by pulling the infant out with both hands and tearing through the birth membranes. "This is a fairly rare observation," said Sarah Turner of McGill University. "It's hard to know what's going on in her head." The question is, was the second monkey acting out of a desire to assist or was she emulating the behavior that female monkeys would otherwise do by themselves when giving birth ?[!gad]Birth in humans is a particularly long and painful affair that requires the presence and services of a qualified midwife. In the animal kingdom most species have it somewhat easier, in the case of monkeys birth can take place within just ten minutes, but researchers observing black snub-nosed monkeys in China recently came across something unexpected that could rewrite the book on what we know about them.

As the researchers watched, a second monkey had approached the mother giving birth as the head of the baby started to emerge. This monkey 'midwife' appeared to provide support by pulling the infant out with both hands and tearing through the birth membranes. "This is a fairly rare observation," said Sarah Turner of McGill University. "It's hard to know what's going on in her head." The question is, was the second monkey acting out of a desire to assist or was she emulating the behavior that female monkeys would otherwise do by themselves when giving birth ?

Source: New Scientist | Comments (8)

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