Unfortunately, physical disabilities among apes are not rare, with many
losing their hands and feet in the forests to catch other animals. But congenital disabilities, or those present from birth, are far less documented, especially for those in the wild.
Now a new study published in
Primates mentions, in details, the social and behavioral development of a wild chimpanzee who thought to be born with "symptoms resembling Down syndrome" over two years of her survival.
The researchers who were studying a group of habituated chimpanzees living in Tanzania’s Mahale Mountains National Park, didn’t at first notice anything wrong with the infant, named XT11. When she was around six months old, they observed that while her brother became much more active, she remained behaviorally and socially limited. She showed little change, and she was unable to support herself. She still totally relied on her mother for transport and food, when other similar aged baby chimpanzees were so much more independent; relying on their own skills and abilities.
Along with the presumed mental disability, XT11 also had some physical abnormalities. She had what appeared to be a hernia on her belly, which grew and shrunk, as well as apparent damage to her spine, an additional finger on her left hand, and she often kept her
mouth half-open. In spite of this, her mother incredibly managed to keep her alive for almost two years, she was strong enough to take care of her little disabled baby.
It was the behavior of XT11’s mother, a 37-year-old chimpanzee called Christina, that was most interesting to the researchers. There is no previous study how a mother chimpanzee would cope with a disabled baby. They found that Christina had adapted her own behaviors to support her little baby.
The research gives a hint into social caring among apes. Christina allowed relatives to care for XT11; only for her own baby's good, because she understood that her little baby needs extra care and love.
(
VIA )
