Apes can Identify Friends they Haven’t Encountered for Decades

Apes outshine many of us as they promptly recognize family and friends even after a gap of over two decades, marking the longest-recorded “social memory” in a non-human species.

Providing crucial understanding of the evolution of human social recognition, the Johns Hopkins University study originated from the observation that apes appeared to recognize humans they had interacted with, even after extended intervals between encounters.

“We often perceive great apes as fundamentally different from us, but what we’ve observed is that these animals possess cognitive mechanisms remarkably similar to our own, including memory,” explained Laura Lewis, the lead author and a biological anthropologist at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). She finds the study particularly exciting for this reason.

Examining Social Memory in Apes

The research, conducted at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, Planckendael Zoo in Belgium, and Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan, involved working with chimpanzees and bonobos. Sets of photos were created, each featuring one familiar animal and one stranger. The apes were given access to an area with a juice feeder, and an above-window displayed two images specific to each animal—one of a group member who had either passed away or been relocated, and another of an unfamiliar ape. Using a non-invasive eye-tracking device, researchers measured the apes’ focus to determine if they spent more time looking at familiar individuals, and the results were affirmative.

However, Christopher Krupenye, the senior author and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University specializing in animal cognition, highlighted that the apes seemed to respond as if they recognized the researchers, perceiving them as distinct from average zoo visitors. The study aimed to empirically investigate whether apes truly possess a lasting and robust memory for familiar social partners.

The findings indicated that the apes consistently spent more time looking at animals with whom they had past positive associations. Notably, one bonobo named Louise hadn’t seen her sister Loretta and nephew Erin for 26 years, yet over eight trials, she consistently focused on their images compared to the unfamiliar animal.

Implications for Human Evolution

In fact, these findings have generated enthusiasm among researchers, as they suggest that social memory played a crucial role in the evolution of our species, considering the shared common ancestor between humans and these animals.

Laura Lewis, the lead author, noted that the observed pattern of social relationships influencing long-term memory in chimpanzees and bonobos resembles what is observed in humans. Our own social relationships, she added, also appear to shape our long-term memory of individuals.

Naturally, this research prompts questions about whether these animals yearn for the companions they’ve been separated from and how closely this experience aligns with the human emotional spectrum.

“The notion that they remember others and might miss these individuals is a powerful cognitive mechanism, traditionally considered uniquely human,” Lewis explained. While the study doesn’t definitively confirm this behavior, it raises intriguing possibilities regarding their capacity to do so.

The researchers aim to broaden the study to include other primates, exploring whether subtle nuances in eye contact can provide further insights into the nature of past relationships. A deeper understanding of these intricate connections could also contribute to improving the welfare of captive animals.

Christopher Krupenye emphasized the significance of the work, highlighting how it underscores the fundamental and enduring nature of these relationships. He suggested that disruptions to these relationships could likely be highly detrimental.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

Read more: The Warming Climate is Triggering Animals to ‘Shapeshift’