Monkeys maintain different animals as pets identical to people do, scientists uncover
A shock new study has found that monkeys keep other animals as pets in the same way humans do. Oxford boffins say that the primates interact with lizards, deer, birds, squirrels and dogs like we do
Monkeys may be even more similar to humans than we thought (Image: Dr Mary Gillham Archive Project, Wikimedia Commons)
Ground-breaking new research suggests monkeys and apes are even more similar to humans than previously thought, with the furry folk even keeping other animals as pets.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found that non-human primates often interacted with lizards, deer, birds, squirrels and even dogs in much the same way humans treat their pets, including playing with and grooming their animal pals.
The cute combinations were not limited to one species of monkey or ape, with 88 different primate species displaying the adorable tendency to look after and play with a wide variety of animals. Examples included chimpanzees grooming red-tailed monkeys, playful macaques enjoying the company of chickens, and even capuchins nursing and caring for an abandoned marmoset for several months.
These are just some of the amazing animal combos (Image: Grueter et al., Springer Nature)
Researchers found younger primates were more likely to play with other animals, while adult females more commonly entered into nursing or caring roles with different species.
According to the study, adult males rarely interacted with other species, although when they did, these encounters were often marked by extreme aggression.
Researchers hypothesised that the behaviour comes from an evolutionary, in-built desire for closeness, the absence of which can produce the agonising feeling of loneliness.
Lead author Cyril Grueter recalled: “The gibbon took very good care of the mouse. The mouse also seemed comfortable resting on the gibbon’s hand.”
Turns out monkeys keep pets just like us humans (Image: CandyRetriever via Getty Images)
Grueter added: “There is no non-human primate behaviour that is completely identical to humans keeping pets. However, these behaviours may provide clues to how human pet keeping evolved.”
Perhaps the fact primates feel the need for love, and therefore pets, explains the adorable behaviour of Punch the monkey, who went viral for his unbreakable bond with a cuddly toy.
Punch the macaque was seen in heart-breaking videos wandering alone with the toy after being pushed away by other monkeys. He clutched it tightly while being harassed, dragged and chased by other animals in the group at a zoo in Japan.
Punch the Monkey’s cuddly toy love was adorable (Image: JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging it for comfort. The adorable video earnt the cute creature millions of followers online, with the primate becoming something of an internet celebrity over the last few months.
