Parental care and infant development in a family group of captive Sichuan golden monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellanae): First 20 days

A male Sichuan golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellanae) was born on July 24, 1986 to an adult pair on loan from the Chinese government. Physical and behavioral development of the infant, as well as the behavior of the parents, were recorded for the first 20 days of the infant's life. (On Day 21 the trio was returned to the Chongqing Zoo in the People's Republic of China.) The infant pelage was dark gray at birth but soon began changing to the orange-gold color typical of the adults. Forty hours of behavioral data were collected using a combination of scan sampling and all occurrences of selected behaviors techniques. The infant pushed against his mother and pulled toward objects in the enclosure beginning at 4 days of age. Time spent in these behaviors increased steadily and on Day 15 the infant broke contact with his mother for the first time. Mother-infant contact appeared to be maintained by both individuals mutually up to the infant's 10th day of the life. The percentage of time that the infant spent actively embracing his mother began to decline after that while the female continued to spend the majority of her time embracing the infant. During the first few days following the birth, the male always initiated and maintained proximity to the female and the infant. This “vigilant” behavior had declined somewhat by the end of the study.