Today, we have a special case of a monkey mom who is trying to teach her baby some independence, but the baby is not cooperating at all.
Meet Jade, a 12-year-old macaque who lives in the forests of Cambodia. She is the mother of a 3-month-old baby boy, who is very cute but also very clingy. He only wants to stay on her back and refuses to walk or explore his surroundings. Jade knows that this is not good for his development, as he needs to learn how to survive in the wild and become a strong and confident monkey.
But how can she make him understand that? Well, Jade has a very unique and brutal way of disciplining her baby. She bites him. Yes, you heard that right. She bites his head, mouth, hand, and any other part of his body that she can reach. She does this to make him feel pain and fear and to force him to get off her back and follow her. She also lifts him up to her eye level and pushes his head away, as if to say, “I don’t want you anymore.”.
This may seem cruel and abusive, but Jade is not doing this out of malice or hatred. She is doing this out of love and concern. She wants her baby to grow up and be able to fend for himself. She knows that the forest is full of dangers and predators and that he won’t always have her to protect him. She is trying to prepare him for the harsh reality of life.
But the baby doesn’t understand this. He only feels the pain and the rejection. He screams and cries, and he clings to her even more. He doesn’t want to leave her side. He doesn’t want to face the world. He just wants to be with his mom.
This is a heartbreaking scene to watch, and we can’t help but feel sorry for both of them. Jade is doing what she thinks is best for her baby, but she is also hurting him and herself. The baby is suffering from physical and emotional trauma, and he is also losing his trust and bond with his mom.
