r/punchthemonkey • u/toyrapeutic • 5h ago
【Japanese Macaque】Go, Punch-Kun! The Cry He Makes When Calling for His Mom ~by kiyo~
Kiyo-san is back with another new article. Translated with ChatGPT.
Hello, this is kiyo.
We won’t be able to see Punch for a while, will we? I’m sure many people are looking forward to the day visits resume. I feel the same way.
When I watch the videos of Punch that everyone has been posting, I sometimes see scenes where he purses his lips and makes a “poo” sound.
The calls of Japanese macaques each have their own meanings.
When I say they have meanings, some people might misunderstand this as being similar to human speech or conversation. However, they are by no means having conversations. Rather, their emotional state is expressed through their calls.
Macaques do communicate with one another through vocalizations, so as a result, they can engage in exchanges that may seem somewhat like a conversation. However, these are ultimately very simple exchanges of emotions.
Now, when a young macaque purses its lips and makes a “poo” sound, this is something they generally do only until around one year of age at most.
Yesterday, I posted a video of an orphaned baby macaque in circumstances similar to Punch’s. In that video, there are many scenes where the baby also purses its lips and makes the same “poo” sound.
Punch also makes this same kind of pursed-lip call, and I’m sure many of you have seen him doing it.
So, what emotion is he expressing when he does this?
I think this recorded footage is the easiest way to understand it, so please take a look.
This is a video of a baby who has been separated from its mother and is desperately searching for her.
The baby keeps looking around and calling desperately.
In other words, this is the call of a young macaque searching for its mother and calling out to her.
The other day, I showed you a video of a white-haired baby macaque being attacked. That baby was also making the same pursed-lip call.
It can specifically mean that the baby is calling for its mother, but this vocalization is also used simply when the baby is seeking help from those around it.
It is a vocalization that comes from feelings of anxiety and loneliness.
Neither Punch nor the baby I posted about yesterday has a mother.
I think both Punch and yesterday’s baby understand that their mothers are not there.
For that reason, they do not make the same desperate calls as the baby in this video.
The baby in this video is calling desperately in hopes that its mother will find it. Punch and yesterday’s baby, on the other hand, probably make these calls unconsciously.
It is instinctive. Their calls are not particularly loud, and they do not make them very often.
However, the fact that they still instinctively make this call means that, deep down, they are still seeking their mothers.
Punch has already turned one. He is a boy. He has also become quite accustomed to the troop.
But even so, he is still only one year old.
That said, in Punch’s case, because he is living in a zoo environment, we also need to consider another possible meaning.
If he is making this call while facing the door that the keepers use to enter and exit, then it may simply be a plaintive, attention-seeking call because he wants the keeper to come to him.
In any case, when you see Punch still pursing his lips and making that “poo” sound, please remember that he is still feeling anxious and that he still wants someone to comfort and care for him.
But don’t worry.
As Punch himself gradually becomes more settled, these calls should naturally become less frequent.
Author's note:
＊ Unless otherwise noted, the header image, images in the article, and videos were all taken by me personally.
＊ I have compiled articles about each species of wild animal into separate magazines. Please take a look at the previous posts as well.
