On the Question of Punch's Daytime Sleeping - Rumors of Medication
I decided to copy the contents of a response into a new post, since it seems to be a real question and there are some people online spreading rumors. It must be a day ending in 'y'.
All of this information comes from research on Macaca fuscata (Japanese macaques) and Macaca mulatta (Rhesus macaques) and applies to animals kept in zoos (as well as animals living in the wild) and also applies to year old mambers of the troop.
It is entirely normal for a one-year-old Japanese macaque to become sleepy during hot daytime hours in a zoo setting or in the wild. This sleepiness is a vital and natural behavioral adaptation for **thermoregulation**, enabling them to conserve energy and avoid heat stress.
Research on *Macaca fuscata* and closely related macaques supports this behavior through the following research findings:
* **Energy Conservation:** Japanese macaques experience extreme seasonal variations in their environment, experiencing very hot and very cold months. Prolonged or resting inactivity serves as an essential **behavioral thermoregulation** strategy to prevent overheating and to maintain metabolic balance. * **Microhabitat Selection:** Peer-reviewed studies, such as research on wild *M. fuscata*, show that during periods of high temperature and heat stress, macaques actively retreat to shaded or semi-shaded areas and reduce activity, taking naps often, to regulate their body temperature * **Naturally Polyphasic Sleep:** Unlike humans, macaques have polyphasic sleep patterns, meaning they regularly take naps throughout the day alongside their primary nighttime sleep. **For a one-year-old, this need for rest is even more pronounced as they are still developing and growing.**
**Research specifically notes that these species of monkeys are often seen sitting perfectly upright and awake and then suddenly falling asleep, only to wake up and resume normal waking activity after napping. They also note that, similar to human youngsters they often need a nap, but seem to want to continue to play, fighing the urge to sleep, only to succumb to sleep as their bodies need more rest than adults, who are not engaged in as much energetic play.**
**Punch has been seen doing this very thing, and it's nothing to worry about - this specific description comes straight from research papers that note this behavior in young macaques.**
On the issue of whether they would medicate Punch and leave him in the enclosure with the rest of the macaques, it really depends.
If he was being medicated because of an illness, they would quarantine him, especially since there are infants that are naturally attracted to him - they would not want to risk any transmittal of illness to the other monkeys, particuarly the youngest ones, which he spends time with.
All primates share physiological and neurological pathways, so they can be given some of the same types of medications as humans. I saw some speculation about possible antihistimine use since Punch is seen scratching at times. I think it's doubtful they are giving him antihistimines since his scratching is not excessive and he doesn't seem to have any type of hair loss that would indicate a real medical problem. It's not typical for zoos to give medications prophylactically, usually it would be for an actual medical problem (or for female birth control).
It's possible for M fuscata to experience pollen allergies, and the symptoms would include sneezing, runny eyes, runny nose, and redness of the eyes. We don't see any of that in Punch either.
Behaviorally, I think it's more likely that he's just experiencing the normal sleepiness that happens with young primates when they play hard and then sleep hard. Between energy conservation and the normal polyphasic sleep that these monkeys are known for, I think that is really all that is going on here.
One of the main reasons I would say this is because outside of his sleep/nap time he is very active, running around, jumping, he maintains excellent balance when he's playing on the chain bridge and in the playground area. His coordination when jumping from one branch to another on the tree branches is very high.
Medications that cause drowsiness would also depress his activity during times when he's not napping. And those medications would also affect his balance, his coordination, his ability to judge distances while jumping from one branch to another. In general his play activity would be depressed at least somewhat if he was being given some type of medication that was causing drowiness.
The fact that he seems perfectly normal while he's playing - he's still rough and tumbling, he's very active while awake, maintaining good balance and coordination - these all point to his sleeping to be due to normal daytime thermal regulation and the typical play hard/sleep hard of a young monkey rather than the kind of constant drowsiness that would be caused with medications.
The zoo has also been very forthcoming so far when asked questions about Punch and I think if they were giving him antihistimines for allergy symptoms (or other medications) they would not have any reason to hide that kind of information. When asked about the sleeping they have indicated it is due to the natural tendencies known in this and other related species, and I don't see anything that would indicate his sleepiness is due to drugs, which would cause behavior changes throughout the day, not just periodic napping.
Again, he's resuming normal activity in between these naps, and that isn't what is normally seen when the naps and sleepiness are being caused by medication.