Chimpanzee Urination Study Reveals ‘Socially Contagious’ Behavior
Researchers at Kyoto University have discovered that captive chimpanzees exhibit “socially contagious urination,” where one primate starts peeing and others follow suit. This phenomenon is similar to contagious yawning in humans, which has been well-studied.
The study, published in Current Biology, found that when a chimp started peeing, its peers were more likely to take a break for a pee themselves. The researchers recorded 20 chimps at the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan for over 600 hours and captured 1,328 urination events on camera.
Data showed that lower-ranking chimps were more likely to urinate when they saw their peers peeing, while physical proximity to the initial urinator increased the likelihood of others following suit. However, social closeness or grooming habits did not appear to influence this behavior, unlike contagious yawning in humans.
The findings suggest that contagious urination may have a “deep evolutionary origin,” tracing back to a shared ancestor with humans and other great apes. This phenomenon could promote social bonding within groups and even help reinforce cohesion.
While the study only included captive chimps, researchers suspect this behavior exists in the wild as well. Future studies will investigate contagious urination among wild chimps and other social species.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/for-chimpanzees-peeing-may-be-contagious-just-like-yawning-is-for-humans-study-finds-180985875