Is This Gorilla Mother Consciously Protecting Her Baby?
In response to a report of "heroic" behavior by a female mountain gorilla aiming to protect her baby, anthropologist Barbara J. King explores questions of conscious awareness of infanticide in apes.
In a post published by the conservation organization Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) last month, the behavior of a mountain gorilla female in Rwanda was described in striking terms.
The 26-year-old female, named Pasika, has been traveling alone with her baby for more than seven months in Rwanda's Virunga mountains, ever since her social group fell apart at the death of its silverback leader. Her infant, Mashami, is now one year old.
The post described Pasika's behavior as a "heroic," conscious choice, made because Pasika understands the risks of infanticide by gorilla males. She wants to protect her infant from these risks, in other words.
In the world of animal-behavior
