YANG ET AL. CURRENT BIOLOGY, 2016
Chronicle of a death: the images show DM (top) from the time of her return until her dying moments, watched closely by ZBD (center), the group leaderYANG ET AL. CURRENT BIOLOGY, 2016Some species of monkeys behave in ways that call to mind the empathy and compassion expressed by humans upon the death of a friend or relative. On rare occasions, researchers have seen chimpanzees and marmosets tend to ailing members of their group. Chinese researchers have recently described this type of behavior among snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in a wildlife reserve in central China. On December 17, 2013, Bin Yang and Bao-Guo Li from the Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation documented how eight monkeys reacted to the death of a high-ranking female in their group, identified by the acronym DM. At around 1 PM that day, DM reappeared after a three-day absence. She was weak, and emitting sounds known as contact calls. Minutes later, the male leader of the group, ZBD, approached DM and touched her hand twice, while vocalizing an alarm call to the rest of the band. When the two monkeys reached the rest of the group, DM climbed a tree and sat approximately 20 meters above the ground, followed by ZBD. Half an hour later, DM lost consciousness, fell, and hit her head on a rock. The leader called and the others approached DM. For 50 minutes, the monkeys looked at her closely, smelled her face and touched her hands. When interest waned, they moved away, except for ZBD and three females. DM managed to stand up and walk a few steps before dying. ZBD stayed with the body for another five minutes, occasionally giving her arm a gentle tug. The next day, the group returned to the site and ZBD sat for a few minutes at the place where DM had died (Current Biology, May 23, 2016). The researchers attribute these caring gestures to a strong bond between ZBD and DM, who was the mother of one of his children. “These and other observations suggest that compassionate care is not exclusive to humans and great apes,” the authors write.
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