A pregnant monkey living alone in his cage at a Japanese zoo has left staff scratching their heads for two years, but the mystery has finally been unraveled and the mystery male has been discovered.
Momo, a white-handed gibbon at Kujukushima Zoo and Botanical Garden, Nagasaki, gave birth in February 2021.
Deputy News reports that although she had male neighbors, their cages are separated by bars and wire mesh fencing.
They turned to science to solve the dilemma by analyzing the DNA taken from hair and feces samples to trace the fatherin a study that took two years.
The father was eventually revealed to be Itou, a lithe 34-year-old gibbon, but staff were still puzzled over how the two monkeys managed to find time together when in separate cages.
Momo lived in a cage with large bars also covered in wire mesh and planks separating her section from Itou’s.
But discovered a hole in the wall which measures 9mm in diameter. Thus it was that the perforated wall separated Momo’s cage from an exhibition space that Momo and Itoh occupied in turn.
“We think it’s very likely that on one of the days Itoh was in the exhibit space, they copulated through a hole,” Yamano told Vice.
The zoo now plans to try to relocate Itoh with his family and they have replaced the perforated wall with something more solid.
The minimal but vital hole in the wall has been replaced with a steel barrier, and there are plans for Momo and Itou to move in together with their baby, but the staff will have to move in gradually so the couple can get used to each other. other company.
Jun Yamano, the superintendent of the zoo, told Vice News how it took so long to get the DNA sample.
“It took two years to figure it out why we couldn’t get close enough to collect samples; she was very protective of her son,” she said. “We think it is very likely that on one of the days Itoh was in the exhibition space, they copulated through a hole.”
He reiterated that it is important for monkeys to feel comfortable living together before they can be in the same enclosure.
Yamano said, “They have to get used to each other first. But I hope they live together as one family.”
Source: Clarin
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