Baby Monkey Alfie Cries Out for His Mother’s Care

A baby macaque named Alfie cries and squirms in his mother’s arms, his small face twisted in obvious distress as she holds and inspects him. That moment of raw, noisy discomfort sits at the heart of this footage, shot outdoors on a mossy stone ledge surrounded by grass and low tropical greenery.

What happens in the video

The footage opens close on Alfie, still tiny enough to fit easily against his mother’s belly, his mouth open mid-cry as she cradles him with both hands. His skin looks pink and delicate, the way a very young macaque’s does before its fur fully fills in, and his mother’s grip looks careful, almost like she is checking him over rather than simply holding him.

A little later, the pair are out in the open on a large flat rock, with a second, slightly older-looking monkey nearby. The mother sits upright while Alfie rests close to her side and another monkey leans in near her, the three of them forming a small, shifting cluster on the stone.

Why does a baby monkey cry like this?

Young macaques commonly cry or fuss when they want their mother’s attention, whether that’s for comfort, feeding, or reassurance after being startled. In this footage, Alfie’s crying draws his mother’s focus directly onto him, and she responds by holding and handling him closely.

By the last part of the video, the scene has calmed. Alfie sits upright on the stone beside his mother, his posture steadier and more alert, while she busies herself nearby with something held in her hands. The change from his earlier crying to this quieter, more settled moment gives the clip its shape, a brief window into the ordinary back-and-forth between a stressed infant and the mother working to settle him.

[“baby monkey”, “macaque”, “alfie”, “monkey mother and baby”, “wildlife video”, “baby animal”]
Wildlife
[“A baby macaque named Alfie is shown crying while his mother holds him close”, “His mother cradles and inspects him with both hands during the crying”, “A second, older-looking monkey appears near the mother later in the footage on a flat stone”, “In a later scene, Alfie sits upright and calm beside his mother on the rock”, “The footage was shot outdoors on mossy stone ledges surrounded by grass and greenery”]
A crying infant macaque named Alfie is cradled and checked over by his mother