Tiny primates form close bonds that may be foundation of human relationships. It may not seem like monkey business, but emotional bonds in animals such as primates may have evolved into love as we know it.
By the same token, monkeys will remember the help of a friend. Grooming, for example, shows affection and respect. And when it's time for a fight, a monkey with whom you've built a friendship is much more likely to fight at your side — or clean your wounds afterward!
Research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that the chimpanzee, man's closest relative, empathises with us, even when they don't know us.
They love each other as we do. They feel complex emotions such as loyalty and jealousy. Apes share all the characteristics and emotions that we think of as human. They do experience deep sadness, for example when they are grieving or lonely, or when they have suffered the death of a parent or their young.
Researchers believe that macaques have sex for pleasure because their sexual behavior is similar to humans. For example, macaques experience elevated heart rates and vaginal spasms when mating.
It was long assumed that only humans can distinguish the living from the dead. Renewed interest in this question over the last decade has led several authors to assert that non-human primates are also aware of death.
Both Arnedo and Fuentes gave personal accounts of growing bonds with monkeys they studied in the field. "If you spend enough time with them, it feels like you're part of a group," said Arnedo, but she added that, just like humans, primates are shaped by environmental factors and individual personalities.
Monkeys, apes and other simians have nothing quite like our tears. They have tear ducts to help keep their eyes lubricated and clean. But they don't drain when they're sad. Chimps will scrunch up their faces and make noise when they're in distress, but they don't connect the tears and the wailing.
"A bonobo might request [a hug], so they will seek someone out and sort of ask for help, or somebody might offer them one," Clay said. It's difficult to judge animal emotions, but the evidence points to the likelihood that hugging reassures these primates, just as it does humans, Clay said.
Capuchin monkeys are known for their ability to recognize when they're being treated inequitably, but it now appears the primates can even spot unfairness in situations that don't involve themselves.
Myth: Chimps can smile like humans do.
Chimps make this expression when they are afraid, unsure, stressed, or wanting to appear submissive to a more dominant troop member. The closest expression chimps have to a smile is a play face.
While some monkeys are gentle, some are very aggressive. However, even the gentlest monkeys are unpredictable and might turn aggressive on anyone, including the person to whom they are the closest, especially during and after puberty.
Monkeys enjoy performing charitable acts and are capable of empathising with members of their own species, according to US researchers. The team taught capuchin monkeys a game involving food handouts in which players could adopt a selfish or helpful strategy.
Unlike many humans, some monkeys are genuinely faithful to their mates. A species known as Azara's owl monkeys tends to be monogamous, according to a new study of these primates. The research also found that the monkeys' inclination to be faithful was related to the male monkeys' tendency to care for their offspring.
Even a reptile, a hen and a fish look like they enjoy some human affection. From a bear that's as cuddly as a stuffed animal to a needy koala, and even this toucan, birds and animals alike appear to love human touch in these online viral videos.
“If you smile at a rhesus monkey it may interpret your show of teeth as an aggressive gesture and respond violently.”
While they do kiss with their lips, their smackers are narrower and don't turn out like ours do. Researchers speculate that this anatomical difference could mean that kissing for chimps is not particularly intimate, but rather an expression of connection like the human hug.
Indeed, studies have shown that chimpanzees and macaques not only seek revenge, but often do so intelligently — for instance, if they see that their adversary is stronger than them, they attack a weaker relative instead.
Attempts both to inseminate women with monkey sperm and impregnate female chimpanzees with human sperm failed. That doesn't mean that tales of humans interbreeding with other animals haven't endured.
Our human ancestors were still interbreeding with their chimp cousins long after first splitting from the chimpanzee lineage, a genetic study suggests. Early humans and chimps may even have hybridised completely before diverging a second time.
Coppery titi monkeys are extremely loyal to their mates, according to research from the German Primate Center (DPZ). Across an entire study population living in the Amazon lowland rainforest, genetic testing revealed that there was not a single example of infidelity.
“I believe we are now justified in thinking that chimpanzees have some kind of awareness of death,” says psychologist James Anderson of Scotland's University of Stirling, who has been studying chimp responses to the dying.
Researchers have discovered that macaque monkeys engage in a distinct memory process that was long thought to be practiced solely by humans. The study, published in the journal Science, shows that this type of monkey can reflect on their memories and evaluate their own ability to recall them, much like humans do.
At some level, animals seem to understand the concept of death. From elephants who grieve for the loss of a herd member to whales who won't leave their dead babies behind, many species react to death in much the same way that people do.