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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

What a tease! Great apes pull hair and poke each other for fun

The animals’ shenanigans hint that mischievous play evolved well before Homo sapiens did.
Juvenile orangutan pulling its mother's hair.

A young orangutan pulls its mother‘s hair. Credit: BOS Foundation BPI

Young apes get a kick out of teasing each other and joking around when they’re relaxed, just like humans do1.

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Nature 626, 695 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00410-3

References

  1. Laumer, I. B., Winkler, S. L., Rossano, F. & Cartmill, E. A. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 291, 20232345 (2024).

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