Factors shaping socio-emotional trajectories in sanctuary-living bonobos: a longitudinal approach
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Early maternal loss can have lasting detrimental effects on primate social development. While many rehabilitation settings provide enriching environments to buffer against such effects in orphans, previous research indicates that young bonobo ( Pan paniscus ) orphans exhibit striking deficiencies in socio-emotional competence compared to their mother-reared peers. However, such studies are generally cross-sectional, without accounting for changes across the lifespan. We conducted longitudinal observations in bonobos living in an accredited African ape sanctuary to examine how rearing background, sex and age predict social tendencies including affiliation, consolation and aggression risk. Affiliative tendencies increased in females and decreased in males with age but were overall lower in orphans compared to mother-reared bonobos. Consolation tendencies decreased with age in mother-reared bonobos, while orphans showed consistently lower consolation (akin to levels of older mother-reared individuals). Young and male bonobos were more likely to receive aggression, while mother-reared and older females were more likely aggressors. Our study highlights the potential that ape sanctuaries like this can have by demonstrating that orphans exhibit decreased affiliative tendencies yet show social functioning ranging within patterns of their mother-reared peers. We discuss these results in the context of bonobos’ natural social ecology and ongoing rehabilitation efforts in this species.
Source: Royal Society Open Science
DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240435
Institutions: Durham University, Harvard University, Emory University
Language: English
Topic: Primate Behavior and Ecology
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,471
OpenAlex ID: W4405485096