Human-like Behaviors of Primates

I studied the behaviors of non-human primates in a zoo, such as Bonobo Chimpanzees and realized that most of their behaviors resemble the behaviors of human beings. One of the behaviors that I observed among the primates is that they interact with their young ones in almost the same way as humans. It is apparent that even other animals take care of their children, but the primates portray extra human-like behaviors that are hardly portrayed by other non-humans. For instance, I noted during my visit that a young chimpanzee lifted arm, just like children do, to be picked by his or her mother. When I waved as a Chimpanzee, he waved that. Even a young Chimpanzee understood how to respond to gestures used by human beings.

The ability for the primates to learn human behaviors can be discerned through studying the behaviors of the primates in captivity or in their natural habitats. Despite this, there are advantages and disadvantages involved in both cases. One disadvantage of studying them in natural habitats is that the approach is time consuming, and the advantage of studying them in captivity is that the approach is not time consuming (Rees, 2015). While the primates in the zoos have a known history, those in the natural habitats may not have a known history. People working in the zoos can provide assistance in the identification of primates to be studied, while the support may not be available when studying the primates in their natural habitats (Rees, 2015). However, studying the primates in their natural habitats means that a researcher will acquire more information about their natural traits since their behaviors have not been altered by humans, like the behaviors of primates in captivity (Rees, 2015).

References

Rees, P. A. (2015). Studying Captive Animals: A Workbook of Methods in Behaviour, Welfare

and Ecology. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons