Monkeys’ affection for ‘pet’ animals could be deep primate trait - NewsNation

Barbary macaque / Barbary ape / magot (Macaca sylvanus) monkey species native to Northern Africa and Gibraltar grooming deer. (Photo by: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

( NewsNation ) — The ways that some monkeys, apes and other primates show empathy and affection toward other animals suggest these mammals are wired for keeping pets like their human relatives, according to a new study from an evolutionary biologist.

Oxford University associate professor of anthropology Cyril Grueter’s study was not a designed experiment but rather a compilation of examples in which primates have been observed interacting with other species in the wild and in captivity.

Grueter and an international group of researchers documented more than 400 cases from scientific papers, media reports and surveys of primatologists. All told, 88 primate species were seen interacting with 127 different species, including 72 primate species and 55 nonprimate species.

Notable examples included a male bonobo (a type of great ape) cradling a mongoose pup in Central Africa; a tufted gray langur stroking a giant grizzled squirrel in Sri Lanka; and a group of stump-tailed macaques grooming a domestic dog in Thailand.

“These behaviors don’t amount to pet-keeping as we know it, but they may represent some of the evolutionary building blocks from which human-animal companionship eventually emerged,” Grueter said in a statement.

Researchers also noted that a handful of the interactions between primates and other animals could be considered harmful or abusive, but not necessarily because the primate intended to do harm. Instead, it could have been an unsuccessful attempt at caring for the other species.

Primates tended to make the first move in interacting, the study said, with juveniles and females more likely to make contact with the other species.

Defining characteristics of primates include large brains, forward-facing eyes and hands that can grasp, usually with opposable thumbs. Humans — also primates — share a common ancestor with chimpanzees.