Monkey: Punch

The tragedy of Punch the monkey: why do mother animals abandon their offspring?

A baby monkey in Japan has captured hearts around the world after videos of him being bullied by other monkeys and rejected by his mother went viral last week.

上周，日本一只小猴子遭到同伴欺负、被猴妈妈遗弃的视频在网上疯传，这只小猴子也因此牵动了全世界网友的心。

Punch, a Japanese macaque, was born last July at Ichikawa zoo.

这只名叫 “庞奇” 的日本猕猴，于去年 7 月出生在市川动物园。

He has drawn international attention after zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan toy after he was abandoned by his mother.

在被母亲抛弃后，饲养员给了它一只红毛猩猩毛绒玩具，庞奇也因此受到了国际关注。

Without maternal guidance to help him integrate, Punch has turned to the toy for comfort.

没有母亲的引导帮助它融入群体，庞奇只能从这只玩具身上寻求安慰。

He has been filmed multiple times being dragged and chased by older Japanese macaques inside the enclosure.

有多次视频拍到，它在笼舍里被年长的日本猕猴拖拽、追赶。

Early clips showed him wandering alone with the toy after being pushed away by other monkeys, and clutching it tightly while being harassed.

早期视频片段显示，它被其他猴子推开后，独自抱着玩具游荡；在受到骚扰时，也会紧紧抱住玩具不放。

Viewers were briefly relieved when later videos emerged of another monkey grooming and comforting him.

后来有视频显示，另一只猴子为它梳理毛发、安抚它，网友们一度松了一口气。

However, just days later, new footage showed Punch once again being targeted – this time dragged aggressively in a circle by a much larger monkey before running to hide behind a rock, hugging his toy.

而仅仅几天后，新的画面显示庞奇再次成为攻击目标 ——这次它被一只体型大得多的猴子粗暴地转圈拖拽，最后只能抱着玩具躲到石头后面。

The videos have prompted questions about why monkeys abandon their babies.

这些视频也引发了人们对猴子为何会遗弃幼崽的疑问。

Alison Behie, a primatology expert at Australian National University, said such abandonment is unusual but can occur under certain conditions, citing "age, health and inexperience" as possible factors.

澳大利亚国立大学灵长类动物学专家艾莉森·贝伊表示：这种遗弃行为并不常见，但在特定条件下可能发生，可能的原因包括 “年龄、健康状况和缺乏经验”。

Behie said: "In Punch's case, their mother was a first-time mother, indicating inexperience. "Zookeepers also suggest Punch was born during a heatwave, which would be a high stress environment. In environments where survival is threatened from outside stress, mothers may prioritise their own health and future reproduction rather than continue to care for an infant whose health may be compromised by those environmental conditions."

贝伊说：“庞奇的妈妈是第一次当妈妈，这说明它缺乏育儿经验。饲养员还表示，庞奇出生时正赶上热浪，环境压力非常大。在外界压力威胁到生存的环境中，母猴可能会优先保障自身健康和未来的繁殖能力，而不是继续照料一只可能因环境影响而健康受损的幼崽。”

Following Punch's abandonment, zookeepers introduced the stuffed orangutan after trying alternatives, including rolling towels to different thicknesses for him to cling to.

庞奇被遗弃后，饲养员尝试过多种替代物品，包括把毛巾卷成不同厚度让它抓抱，最后才给了它这只红毛猩猩毛绒玩具。

"Baby Japanese macaques immediately cling on to their mother's body after birth to build muscle strength. They also get a sense of security through holding on to something. However, because he had been abandoned, Punch had nothing to grip on to," the zookeeper Kosuke Shikano said.

饲养员鹿野康介说：“日本猕猴宝宝出生后会立刻抱住妈妈的身体，以此锻炼肌肉力量。它们也能通过抱住某个东西获得安全感。但庞奇被遗弃后，就没有可以抓抱的对象了。”

"We thought that the toy looking like a monkey might help Punch integrate back into the troop later on," he added.

他补充说：“我们觉得，这只长得像猴子的玩具，或许日后能帮助庞奇重新融入猴群。”

Referring to the stuffed orangutan, Behie said: "The toy Punch has may be serving as an attachment figure, especially given they are six months old so likely still need to be nursed."

谈到这只红毛猩猩玩具时，贝伊说：“庞奇怀里的这只玩具，可能扮演了依恋对象的角色，尤其是它现在才 6 个月大，很可能仍需要哺乳。”

Behie added that the behaviours of other monkeys towards Punch "isn't bullying or any abnormal behaviour, but regular social interaction".

贝伊还表示，其他猴子对庞奇的行为 “并非霸凌，也不是异常行为，而是正常的社交互动”。

According to Behie, Japanese macaques have strict matrilineal hierarchies, where higher-ranking families assert dominance over lower-ranking ones.

据贝伊介绍，日本猕猴有着严格的母系等级制度，地位高的家族会对地位低的家族彰显统治权。

Even with his mother, Punch would probably still face this aggression, she said.

她说，就算有妈妈在，庞奇大概率还是会面临这种攻击。

However, Behie said that without his mother "Punch may not develop the appropriate subordinate responses to show they submit to the dominance, which could have ongoing implications for the way they integrate into the group as an adult".

但贝伊也指出，没有母亲的教导，“庞奇可能无法学会做出恰当的顺从反应，来表示自己臣服于强者，这可能会对它成年后融入群体造成持续影响”。

In recent days, the zoo has experienced a surge of visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of Punch.

近几天，动物园的游客数量激增，大家都希望能亲眼看看庞奇。

In response, officials have enforced stricter barriers around the enclosure and urged visitors to remain quiet, avoid using stepladders or tripods for photography and limit prolonged viewing.

对此，园方在笼舍周围设置了更严格的隔离屏障，并呼吁游客保持安静，不要使用梯子、三脚架拍照，不要长时间围观。

Carla Litchfield, a conservation psychologist at Adelaide University, pointed to the intelligence of Japanese macaques and as a result, their popularity for biomedical and neuroscience experiments in Japan.

阿德莱德大学保护心理学家卡拉·利奇菲尔德指出，日本猕猴智商很高，也正因如此，它们在日本常被用于生物医学和神经科学实验。

She also said that macaques were culled in Japan because of their habit of raiding crops.

她还表示，日本猕猴会因为破坏农作物而遭到捕杀。

"This story about Punch highlights the impacts of habitat loss, climate change, zoo animal welfare, and the power of social media to connect people to animals," Litchfield said.

利奇菲尔德说：“庞奇的故事让人们关注到栖息地丧失、气候变化、动物园动物福利等问题，也展现出社交媒体能让人们与动物产生情感联结。”

"However, hopefully the millions of social media likes, and attention won't exacerbate the problem of illegal trade in infant monkeys for the exotic pet trade because everyone thinks baby monkeys are cute and would make a great pet. "Monkeys grow up quickly – Punch will be an adult in four years – and people no longer find them cute and manageable. Monkeys belong with other monkeys. They are social beings and need to be with their own species to thrive mentally and physically."

“但希望社交媒体上数百万的点赞和关注，不会加剧幼猴非法交易和异宠贸易问题 —— 毕竟大家都觉得小猴子很可爱，想把它们当宠物养。猴子长得很快，庞奇四年后就会成年，到那时人们就不会再觉得它们可爱、好管教了。猴子属于猴群。它们是群居动物，只有和同类在一起，才能身心健康地成长。”