POLITE APES

A new study finds that apes say hello and goodbye and use politeness just like humans. Dr. Raphaela Heesen, a researcher in human and great ape communication at Durham University in England, along with her team, observed over 1,200 interactions, such as grooming and playing, between bonobos and chimpanzees in captivity. Their observations showed that the two species communicated before and after a joint activity, using gestures such as holding hands, touching each other or butting heads, as well as vocalizations, mutual gazing and facial expressions (* Aww, just like the reunited Ben and J.Lo!). They believe this is similar to what we humans consider to be “social etiquette” or “politeness.” Before playing with their friends, bonobos exchanged entry signals and mutual gazes 90 per cent of the time, while chimpanzees communicated that they were ready to start 69 per cent of the time. Both species performed exit signals even more often, with 92 per cent of bonobo and 86 per cent of chimpanzee interactions ending with a gaze or some form of gesture.
* Usually it’s feces throwing, but that still counts as a goodbye gesture.
* Although the amount of “politeness” in the feces throwing is debatable.
* How do they know this isn’t just a case of “monkey see, monkey do”?
* When the researchers don’t have any chimpanzees or bonobos handy, they just observe the college students.
* I like how these researchers always say monkeys are “grooming” and not “eating bugs off each other.”