This is the baffling moment a cannibal monkey mum devoured her own baby - which she carried around for two days.

The female drill monkey named Kumasi gave birth to her child at the Dvur Kralove safari park zoo in the Czech Republic in August 24, 2020, but her offspring died just eight days later.

Researchers from the University of Pisa observed Kumasi's behaviour and found the bereaved mum grooming and cradling the baby's body for two days as though it were still alive.

The paper, published this month in the international journal Primates by authors Grazia Casetta, Andrea Paolo Nolfo, and Elisabetta Palagi, reported: 'After her baby's death, the mother continued to take care of him for two days. Her increased tactile and visual exploration (measured by grooming and inspecting) of the corpse may indicate attempts to get a reaction from the baby.

'Interestingly, other group members also tried to engage the gaze of the dead infant. This observation recalls reports that both monkeys and apes often inspect the face and/or eyes of recently deceased individuals, possibly to detect the absence of eye movements.

'The persistent absence of gaze engagement may be a cue that 'something is wrong' with the dead individual.'

Bizarrely, on the second day of her baby's death, Kumasi was observed to handle the corpse with less care. The other members of the troop were also spotted dragging the baby and spinning it around.

Kumasi then retrieved her baby, sat herself in a spot in the enclosure, and started feeding on it.

Stomach-churning footage shows the female primate picking at the younger monkey's lifeless body and putting the bits of flesh into her mouth in what is believed to be the first report of 'post-mortem carrying and cannibalism of an infant in a captive group of drills'.

Zookeepers then intervened and took the 'completely consumed' baby from the cage.

Scientists said there is no clear reason for Kumasi's shocking behaviour. However, it is believed she engaged in cannibalism for its 'nutritional benefit', giving her energy to mate and give birth again.