Post-mortem infant-directed behaviours in wild Guinea baboons
Anaïs Avilés de Diego1,2, Federica Dal Pesco3,4, Julia Fischer3,4
1Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany. anais.aviles87@gmail.com.
Primates; Journal of Primatology
|July 26, 2026
Summary
Guinea baboons exhibit caretaking and cannibalistic behaviors towards dead infants. These actions likely stem from evolved infant care responses, not a concept of death.
Area of Science:
- Comparative psychology
- Primatology
- Ethology
Background:
- Comparative thanatology investigates the evolution of death understanding across species.
- Nonhuman primates display varied responses to dead infants, including caretaking and cannibalism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document behaviors toward dead infants in a wild Guinea baboon (Papio papio) population.
- To test hypotheses explaining primate responses to infant death.
Main Methods:
- 12-year field observation (2014-2025) of a Guinea baboon group in Senegal.
- Recording and analyzing 64 infant deaths and subsequent maternal/group behaviors.
Main Results:
- Mothers and other group members exhibited caretaking behaviors in 22 cases (carrying, grooming, protecting).
- Cannibalism occurred in 6 cases.
- No maternal distress was observed; mothers did not appear to recognize infant death.
Conclusions:
- Observed behaviors in Guinea baboons do not necessitate a concept of death.
- Post-mortem caretaking is likely a byproduct of selection for infant care, with infants eventually abandoned or cannibalized.
- The lack of response and corpse disintegration may shift perception from 'care recipient' to 'food item'.
