Primate Behavior

1. Primates and Primate
Behavior

2. Primates
Primates are a group of mammals that
are adapted to living in trees through
stereoscopic vision, grasping hands and
large brains.

3. 4 Groups
• Prosimians
• New World Monkeys
• Old World Monkeys
• Hominoidea

4. Primate Evolution

5. Ethology
• Ethology is the scientific study of animal
behavior.

6. Estrus Cycle
• The majority of primates (like most
mammals), have an estrus cycle.
• Females of the species are only
receptive to sex when they can
conceive.

7. Chimp in Estrus

8. Precocial vs. Altricial
• Precocial animals are relatively mature
and mobile soon after birth.
• Altricial animals are relatively helpless
after birth, requiring extensive care after
birth.

9. Primate Development
• Primates are altricial animals with a
requiring a very long period of post-
natal dependency.
• Chimps do not reach sexual maturity till
they are around 11 (in females) or 13 (in
males).

10. Post-Natal Care

11. Social Behavior
• Primates are social animals: they live in
groups and have complex social
behavior.
• Social animals recognize individuals as
having differing roles and statuses.

12. Dominance Hierarchy
• Dominance hierarchy - a structure
where the various members of a society
differ in power and access to food and
mates.

13. Dominance Hierarchy
• In a dominance hierarchy, there is
competition for who is the Alpha or most
dominant individual.

14. Agonistic Display
• An agonistic display is an act that attempts
to intimidate others…without actually
attacking them.

15. Cooperation
• While there is competition between
primates, there is much evidence of
cooperation as well. Primates will often
work together for mutual benefit.
• There is also some evidence for a
“sense of fairness” in our primate
cousins.

16. Grooming
• Primates can often be seen grooming
each other.
• Allo-grooming refers to grooming of
others.
• Auto-grooming refers to grooming of self.

17. Grooming

18. Grooming

19. Grooming
• Grooming serves a variety of functions:
it keeps the hair free of dirt and
parasites, relieves stress and helps to
create and maintain social bonds.

20. Primate Culture
• Non-human primates can be said to
have culture because they have shared
practices that are learned…and not just
instinctual.

21. Primate Culture Examples
• Termite fishing
• Cracking open nuts with rocks
• Gathering water with plant material.

22. Primate Cognition
• Humans and non-human primates have
very interesting similarities and differences
when it comes to learning.
• Chimps tend to out-perform humans on
memory tests. It is thought that our brains
evolved to better use language, while the
brains of non-human primates evolved
with better short-term memory.

23. Primate Learning
• All young primates learn by observing
adults…
• But humans spend time actively
teaching children. And human children
have a greater expectation of being
taught.