Chimpanzees and Bonobos Offer Comfort Before Stressful Situations, Study Finds

KATHMANDU. New research has shown that chimpanzees and bonobos, considered the closest living relatives of humans, adopt behaviors such as hugging, touching, kissing, and comforting each other before stressful situations.

According to researchers, such behavior helps increase mutual trust and reduce potential conflict. Researchers from Durham University in the UK studied chimpanzees and bonobos at two large ape conservation centers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. During the research, they used peanuts to create situations similar to food competition in a wild environment.