PapaMonkey

This is a bit of a departure for PK, as I'm less interested in the science of fathering than the actual practice of fathering: the feelings and conflicts, the personal victories and defeats, the struggles to bridge the divide between the fathers we had (or the kind we wish we had), versus the kind we are, how we ended up that way, and if we're satisfied with that.

But here from my local fish wrap comes an article about a certain kind of PapaMonkey, the titi monkey of South America, who is a pretty darned-tootin' nurturer of baby titi monkeys. Conversely, the MamaMonkeys play the reluctant, only semi-interested, sometimes downright hostile caregiver, kind of like me during the World Series.

Titi babies tend to ride draped across a parent's shoulders, and when mom wants the kid off her back, her favorite strategy for shifting responsibility is to make the baby cry.

"She'll rub it up against the side of the cage, or in the wild against a tree branch, to make it cry, or nip it a little, and then daddy will come get it," Bales said.

Both parents will come running to their baby's cry if researchers place the infant on the ground, but mom will often pick it up and hand it to dad.

I'm going to send you here for the article: At UC Davis, monkey dads are nurturers. But if you have a love of registering at websites, entering your likes, dislikes, income level, phone number, and choosing yet another password, feel free to read the original here.