Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
Several photographers spotted a rather unusual interaction between two species at Dairy Farm Nature Park on Oct. 4.
A long-tailed macaque was spotted cradling two civet cat babies, and shielding them from the rest of the troop.
Protecting and grooming civet babies
One Daniela Moses shared on Facebook about her sighting during an early morning walk.
Moses heard some loud squeaking from the treetop, and initially thought that the macaque was carrying its newborn.
Upon a closer look however, the small baby turned out not be an infant macaque, but two civet cats instead.
The macaque was spotted gripping one baby tightly between its jaws, and holding another in one hand.
Photo courtesy of Daniela Moses
Moses observed that other curious monkeys who attempted to approach this individual in particular would be aggressively scared away.
Some might attribute this protective behaviour to maternal instincts, but the macaque in question was actually a male.
Photo courtesy of Daniela Moses
Another photographer, Yeo Szemin, told Mothership that the macaque was grooming the two babies, "being gentle" with them and treating them like his own "treasured [babies]".
Grooming is a ritual carried out by primates within their troop, and helps to reinforce social structures and bonds.
Fate of baby civets uncertain
Meanwhile, the mother civet cat was nowhere to be seen, and it is uncertain if the baby civets were abandoned, the mother had died, or the macaque had snatched the babies.
The eyes of both baby civets were still closed, which meant that they likely were only a few days old.
Photo courtesy of Yeo Szemin
Photo courtesy of Yeo Szemin
Eventually, the troop of macaques disappeared into the forest.
While the interaction might seem like a rare and heartwarming one, the encounter might not end well for the civet babies.
Without the mother civet there to nurse them, there is a possibility of the civet babies starving and perishing.
This incident might be unheard of in Singapore, but there have previously been reports of macaques stealing human babies in India, as well as 'kidnapping' a puppy in Malaysia.
Long-tailed macaques are a common sight at Singapore's parks and nature reserves, and occasionally our urban areas.
They are known to be social creatures.
Inter-species interactions such as these are uncommon, but long-tailed macaques have also been seen grooming the rare Raffles' banded langur, in what was described as a record sighting.
Top photo courtesy of Daniela Moses and Yeo Szemin