Today, we are going to focus on a pair of long-tailed macaques, a mother and her baby, who live in a large troop in Cambodia. They are monkey mom Brinn and baby monkey Blaze.
Blaze is an active baby monkey, but sometimes he is also too stubborn. He likes to explore his surroundings and play with other monkeys, but he also depends on his mom for comfort and protection. Brinn, on the other hand, is a vicious monkey mother who demands that her child do everything in her power. She often bites and tortures her own baby if he doesn’t follow her instructions or annoys her.
In this video, you will see some examples of how Brinn treats Blaze in different situations. For instance, in the first clip, you can see that Brinn is trying to relax on a tree branch, but Blaze doesn’t want to climb the tree and only wants to cling onto his mom’s fur. So Brinn bit his body, which made him shout out loudly. You can hear his cries and see his pain in his eyes.
In the second clip, you can see that they come down to the ground. Brinn started to wean Blaze, which means she stopped letting him suckle her milk. But it looks like Blaze is hungry and wants to stay closer to his mom and seek an opportunity to suckle for milk. But Brinn doesn’t allow her baby to stay close, and she wants him to roam around instead. Blaze just doesn’t understand why Mom is so mean to him. He is just a baby and wants to suck when he is hungry.
But Mom Brinn is not always bad. She is also very protective of her baby. If other monkeys catch her baby, she steps in, scares them away, and takes over and grooms her baby. And sometimes, when she is in a nursing mood, she is really a good and caring mother. She even shares solid food with her baby, such as fruits and nuts. Some other monkey moms don’t share solid food because they follow the monkey rule that adults eat first. But Brinn is not like that. She is generous and loving to her baby when she wants to be.
So, what do you think of this monkey mom and her baby? Do you think Brinn is too harsh on Blaze, or is she just trying to teach him how to survive in the wild? Will Blaze grow up to be a strong and independent monkey, or will he be traumatized by his mom’s behavior? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for watching, and see you next time.
