Chimpanzees Hug to Avoid Conflicts

A new study has found that chimpanzees and bonobos use physical contact such as hugging, kissing, and stroking before meals to reduce 'sharing' stress and prevent conflicts within the group. The research, led by the University of Durham in the UK, discovered that chimpanzees and bonobos use physical contact not only to form social bonds but also to reduce tension within the group. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, observed five different groups of chimpanzees and bonobos living in conservation areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. As part of the study, the primates were given peanuts at regular intervals to establish a feeding routine, and their interactions were observed in the five minutes leading up to meals. The research found that individuals who engaged in more physical contact before meals experienced fewer conflicts during meals and were able to share food more peacefully. The study's lead author, psychologist Jake Brooker, noted that situations like food competition create tension within the group, and that pre-meal contact plays a significant role in reducing this stress. The study also found that chimpanzees engage in physical contact with more individuals than bonobos do. Chimpanzees were observed to exhibit high-trust behaviors such as putting their fingers in each other's mouths or gently biting each other more frequently. In bonobos, social bonds between females were more prominent, while in chimpanzees, physical contact was more concentrated among male individuals. The researchers suggested that the fact that both species use similar methods to reduce conflicts within the group may indicate that their common ancestors also exhibited similar social behaviors.