MATERNAL RESPONSES TO DEAD AND DYING INFANTS IN WILD TROOPS OF RING-TAILED LEMURS AT THE BERENTY RESERVE, MADAGASCAR

We describe responses of seven mothers and other troop members to dead and dying infants in several troops of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catt a) at the Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. In contrast to mothers in simia n species, ring-tailed lemur mothers rarely carried their dying, immob ile or dead infants. However, they sniffed, licked, and touched them e ven after they had died. While the dying infants were still peeping, t heir mothers remained near them, and 15 to 76 min after the infants ce ased to peep, they were left by their mothers. Six of the seven mother s returned to their dead infants several times within the first few ho urs after they had left them. All seven mothers gave repeated calls, s uch as ''mew'' and ''pyaa,'' when they were separated from either thei r dead infants or other troop members or both. Thus, each mother exhib ited some form of maternal behavior toward her dead infant for hours a fter its death. These results indicate that there may not be a great g ap in terms of maternal affection between simian and prosimian mothers . We also discuss visuospatial memory ability in ring-tailed lemurs an d the causes of the infants' deaths.