Comparative analysis of mother–infant interactions between free-ranging and captive rhesus macaques in Kathmandu, Nepal

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are gregarious, social primates whose infants depend on maternal support for survival. This study aimed to compare mother–infant interactions between free-ranging rhesus macaques (Swayambhunath Temple) and those in a captive setting (Central Zoo, Lalitpur) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Interactions such as duration of proximity and duration of contact between the dyads and symmetry, duration of out-of-proximity, duration of carrying or leaving by the mother while moving, and duration of nipple contact were compared. Five-minute focal animal sampling of maternal macaques was used to record the duration of mother–infant interactions. The behavioral state of the mother was also recorded via instantaneous scan sampling at one-minute intervals during focal samples. Our results revealed that the durations of proximity and contact were greater in the free-ranging macaques than in the zoo macaques. Similarly, the duration of carrying or leaving by the mother while moving was also greater in the free-ranging condition. The free-ranging mother–infant dyads spent significantly more time in nipple contact than did those in the captive setting. The infants were found to be primarily responsible for initiating both contact and proximity in the captivity. The symmetry for contact was balanced in free-ranging macaques; however, the infants were more responsible than the mothers for proximity behavior.