Empathic comforting varies more within bonobo and chimpanzee species than between them

(Press-News.org) Psychologists from Durham University, UK, observed the behaviour of 90 sanctuary-living apes to establish whether bonobos were more likely than chimpanzees to comfort others in distress. 

The study, led by Dr Jake Brooker, found that both species consoled their peers at similar rates, with the greatest variation actually occurring within each species. 

This challenges long-held assumptions that bonobos are the more empathic ape and instead highlights the variation within each species. 

It is the first time that the two species’ consolation tendencies have been directly compared. 

The study has been published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. 

The researchers studied 40 bonobos at the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 50 chimpanzees at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia. 

In total, the team logged 1,400 hours of observation across the two species, focussing on how individuals reacted to a group member that had experienced a naturally occurring moment of distress such as a fight. 

They found that older apes were less likely to console than younger apes in both bonobos and chimpanzees. 

This suggests that emotional sensitivity to others emerges early in ape development. 

In bonobos, younger individuals were more likely to console others and be consoled. 

In chimpanzees, young males and close social partners consoled the most. 

Both species console each other in a similar way to humans, with behaviours including embracing, hand grasping, and touching. 

Dr Brooker, of Durham University’s Department of Psychology, said: “For a long time, bonobos have been thought of as the more empathic ape, whilst chimpanzees are typically spoken about as the violent, despotic ape. 

“However, we found that chimpanzees are just as likely to console one another as bonobos.  

“Instead, like recent studies comparing bonobos and chimpanzees in aggression, social tolerance, and sexuality, our findings highlight the important individual and social variation within each species. 

“Just like humans, bonobos and chimpanzees may flexibly show empathy depending on the individual, the group, and the surrounding social culture.” 

Senior author of the study, Professor Zanna Clay of Durham University’s Department of Psychology, added: “Although empathy is very important for our own species, our findings show that empathic behaviours, like consolation, appear to be a common trait we also share with our two closest ape relatives.  

“Finding these overlaps between our two close cousins suggests our last common ancestor likely showed these empathic capacities too. 

“A next step will be to see how much these patterns are also observed in other settings, particularly in the wild.” 

The research team say that collecting more data on different groups of apes in a variety of settings would help further our understanding of our closest living relatives, which in turn could shed light on the evolution of human social behaviour.  

This study was funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. 

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