Primitive Thinking
Liz Stabenow
Carrboro NC USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 20 No. 4, July-August 2003, p. 136
As a mother
of a breastfed toddler, I am always surprised when people are shocked
by the comparison of a nursing mother to a cow, or any other mammal.
I distinctly recall gently saying "moo" to myself as I breastfed
my little girl. We are mammals, after all. Perhaps I come from a different
perspective than most-I am a primate care technician. I feed, clean
up after, and care for lemurs and other primates at a research center.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is watching the mothers and
their offspring as they grow up. I have helped an Aye-Aye (a strange-looking
nocturnal lemur) infant latch on to her reluctant mother to make sure
they got off to a good start in their breastfeeding relationship. My
colleagues and I understand the importance of species specific milk
to the lemurs' health and development. The baby lemurs are cared for
completely by their mothers and given supplements only in the rare case
of very small, sick, or weak animals. I have seen mother sifakas, another
type of lemur, wean their infants at various ages and in various manners,
sometimes envying how easily the young lemurs end their period of nursing
and move on to leaves, veggies, and monkey chow.
Right now I'm
enjoying the twin ringtail lemurs I care for. They are often both hanging
on to their mother's back, each one dangling down and grabbing a nipple
in his or her mouth when their mother stops for a bite of food. Her
strength, patience, and endurance can be inspiring. Her little "toddlers"
are starting to sample their first solid foods-in this case, monkey
chow-but quickly return to their mother at the first sound she makes.
If only my two-year-old listened as well. Working with prosimian ("pre-monkey")
primates, it is clear to me how much we share with even our more distant
primate relatives. I do not cringe when I hear a breastfeeding mother
compared to any other mammal. I think that perhaps we have more in common
than our breasts.
Last updated Tuesday, October 24, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:08 UTC 2007.
