In a new study, researchers have found that certain female monkeys that have female friends live longer than those who don’t have close relationships
Scientists studied female white-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica to determine how hanging with fellow females affected their life span.
Until relatively recently, scientists believed that only humans had cultural practices and rituals…
For more than three decades, Perry has directed the Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. There, researchers observe hundreds of large-brained monkeys, documenting their daily life and social dynamics.
A typical day involves heading into the forest for 13 hours to watch white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) as a model to better understand human traits and behaviors.
For the recent study, researchers focused on the connection between female capuchin relationships and their survival. They analyzed 18 years of data to follow 11 social groups of monkeys. They used models to estimate how likely each female is to groom another female in her group, forage for food nearby, or become part of a conflict
Interactions and behaviors aren’t always easy to document. For example, it’s easy to miss grooming because animals are usually quiet when they do it. In order to effectively track these more subtle behaviors, researchers followed one monkey for 10-minute intervals, making sure to document everything the animal did with any group members
Conflicts were easier to note because monkeys usually scream and chase each other. In these situations, researchers recorded what happened when they saw a fight start. But even those incidents are hard to record because animals can move so quickly and a lot happens at once
After analyzing all these social interactions, researchers found that those females who were more involved in the social network with other adult females lived longer
Researchers are particularly intrigued by white-faced capuchin monkeys because they are neonatal primates that diverged from Old World primates (where humans belong) about 40 million years ago. They’re very different from humans as far as behavior, diet, and social organization, but they’ve still developed some human-like characteristics like large brains, long life spans, social learning, and long-term social relationships
