When the head of the infant monkey engages in the pelvis, the fit is exact, and labour may be a prolonged and difficult affair, as it is generally with humans.
And while Dr. Fischer is reluctant to draw facile comparisons between humans and other primates, she couldn't help thinking of her male Barbary macaques, for whom no display carries higher status, or is more likely to impress the other guys, than to strut around the neighborhood with an infant monkey in tow.
In a study that appeared in the American Journal of Primatology, Sofia Refetoff Zahed and her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin compared the responses of experienced fathers and inexperienced males when confronted with the sound of a fussy infant monkey coming from a distant cage.
As the infant monkeys learn early on, the family that sprays together, stays together.
Finalists: "Love in Infant Monkeys," by Lydia Millet; "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders," by Daniyal Mueenuddin.
"Love in Infant Monkeys" is Millet's first story collection (after six novels), and it centers on the interactions between celebrities and animals.
Because he didn't know how to raise infant monkeys, he cared for them the way hospitals of the era cared for human infants in nurseries, with plenty of food, warm blankets, some toys, and in isolation from other infants to prevent the spread of infection.
"Mermaids in Paradise" has the same off-beat, multilayered sense of humor as Millet's previous books, such as "Magnificence," which was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award, and "Love in Infant Monkeys," which was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize.
Because he didn't know how to raise infant monkeys, he cared for them the way hospitals of the era cared for human infants — in nurseries, with plenty of food, warm blankets, some toys, and in isolation from other infants to prevent the spread of infection.
"Love in Infant Monkeys," a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, is full of rewardingly unexpected and satisfying short stories, but its opener, "Sexing the Pheasant," is a condescending portrait of Madonna making lame notes to herself on a bird hunt with Guy Ritchie, an unworthy entry in the collection.
In recognition of this, a special section is provided for tasks that are specifically designed to study behavioral processes in infant monkeys.
