Other primates have a learned component to infant care, including
breastfeeding.  Gorillas, for example, learn parenting by observation,
and gorilla mothers reared by humans are likely to fail to breastfeed
their offspring until shown how to hold the baby to the nipple.

I talked to a tiger trainer when the circus was in town.  He told me
that tigers in captivity wean their cubs much earlier than they would in
the wild.  He said the moms seem to get annoyed at the cubs at about 2
weeks postpartum, and start nipping them and chasing them away.

Elephants behaviour gets distorted when their social organization is
disrupted.

So I don't think that we are the only mammals that find lactation and
childrearing more difficult under stress.
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

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