Primates build bonds with other species, revealing roots of pet ownership
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Researchers from Oxford University led an international study examining social interactions between primates and other animals across 88 primate species and 127 others.
They gathered 427 documented instances of behaviors like play, grooming, transport, and care, drawing from scientific literature, news reports, and surveys of primatologists. The study revealed that primates frequently initiate these interactions, with play and mutual grooming being the most common behaviors.
The researchers observed examples like macaques in Thailand grooming domestic dogs and capuchin monkeys in Brazil adopting and caring for a baby tití monkey for months. While not all interactions are positive, 13 cases resulted in the death of the non-primate animal, the frequency suggests a capacity for interspecies bonding may predate domestication.
The team clarified they weren’t studying “pet-keeping” as we know it, but rather the underlying social capabilities that could have evolved into our current relationships with companion animals. The study suggests humans didn't suddenly develop the ability to bond with other species when they began domesticating animals around 20,000 years ago. Instead, these social skills may have deeper evolutionary roots within the primate lineage, allowing for complex social lives and the potential to form relationships beyond their own species.
Researchers hope this understanding can also inform how animals are managed in zoos and conservation centers, and shed light on empathy and interspecies coexistence.
