Friday, March 22, 2024

how unique are humans really?

 



Photo from Air and Science Magazine


Primatologist Frans de Waal has spent his lifetime 
studying the lives of animals, especially our closest cousins, 
the chimpanzees. de Waal has observed their shifting alliances
 and the structure of their political ranks. He has seen bitter conflicts
 break out, only to be mended by peaceful, respected mediators.
 And he has witnessed chimpanzees grieve for, 
and attempt to comfort, their dead and dying.

But one of the most touching reflections in his new book, 
Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
is the story he tells of a female chimp who didn’t produce enough milk
 to feed her young. When de Waal taught her to feed her baby with a bottle
 instead, she repaid him with what most of us would recognize as gratitude
: holding both of de Waal’s hands and whimpering sadly if he tried to leave.

The book explores many stories of animal emotions from across
 the animal kingdom, and it might leave you wondering 
how unique humans really are.

Mama, the matriarch and oldest of the chimpanzee colony
 of the Royal Burgers Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands, 
expressed affection towards behavioral biologist Jan van Hooff
 as she gave him her last hug before she died in 2016.
 Credit: Jan A R A M van Hooff



~ Frans de Waal
from Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions 
and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
with thanks to Science Friday





1 comments:

Mystic Meandering said...

Love the video! So heart warming...