Search Here

Bonobos, are recognized as one of man’s closest relatives, deal with emotions the same way as we humans do.

A new study from Emory University on bonobos’ relations and emotions found that young bonobos who have trouble dealing with their emotions are less likely to show empathy towards other bonobos. Its pretty much like the behavior seen in human beings.

Adding further more similarities with human, bonobos who got over fights quickly were able to socialize more easily in their groups.

The study was conducted at a sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) which is also the primate’s natural habitat. The study was focused on two groups of young bonobos. One group was raised by their mothers while the other was raised by the human substitute.

In the study it was found that the ones raised by their mothers overcame distress within seconds while the other group of bonobos raised by human substitutes would scream for minutes after a fight had ended.

“It is almost as if one first needs to have one’s own emotional house in order before one is ready to visit the emotional house of another,” De Waal, a primatologist at Emory’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center, wrote to The Verge. “This is true for children, and apparently also for bonobos.”

“In the aftermath of a fight, some bystander bonobos simply fled the scene, some froze up on the spot and some actually ran towards the incident to offer comforting contact to the victim,” said co-author Zanna Clay, according to The Verge.

Researchers hope their work will draw more attention towards the further studies on emotion regulation in primates.

“We are still not used to thinking in terms of emotions and the control they require,” de Waal said, quotes The Verge. “We accept them, but rarely address them. Even today, most textbooks on animal behavior fail to mention emotions.”