Experimental study on sexual behavior between mother and son in Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata)

Abstract

A mother, her adult son, four adult males and six adult females from a free-ranging group at Katsuyama were paired in a cage in the sexual seasons from 1976 to 1980. The paired subjects were classified into the following three types: mother and son, familiar pairs and unfamiliar pairs. The familiar pairs consisted of monkeys who had been in the Katsuyama group until about six months before the experiment. The unfamiliar pairs consisted of monkeys who had not met each other at all or who had not met each other for more than eight years before the experiment. Serial mounts which terminated with ejaculation occurred in nine of ten unfamiliar pairs, four of five familiar pairs, but there were none between the son and mother. The son and mother did not appear to be sexually aroused between themselves, although they were sexually active to other partners. However, on rare occasions, the son mounted singly on the mother, and on one occasion he ejaculated. Their interaction did not change essentially during the three years. The son rarely mounted serially on a female who had a close relationship with his mother.