Sharing childcare duties helps lemur babies survive, Yale researchers find

Some lemur mothers, like their human counterparts, share child-rearing responsibilities and tend to fare better than lemur moms that go it alone, Yale University researchers have found. Black-and-white ruffed lemurs which share nests with other mothers have more time to forage for food according to the study published Aug. 6 in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. "Mothers that cooperate have more time to eat and take care of themselves and, in turn, their offspring are more likely to survive," said Brenda Bradley, assistant professor of anthropology and co-author of the study. Ruffed lemurs and humans are the only day-active primates known to use 'kindergartens,' or pooling of infants by multiple mothers. The ruffed lemurs of Madagascar are also unusual among primates because they are born in litters and give birth only once every few years. Like human babies, the lemurs are undeveloped at birth and totally dependent upon their mothers.