Redirection and consolation in hamadryas baboons
Butovskaia, M.L.; Meĭshvili, N.V.; Chalian, V.G.
Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal Imeni I.M. Sechenova 99(6): 697-705
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 0869-8139 PMID: 24459878 Document Number: 668243
Post-conflict interactions between victims and non-involved group members was investigated in the troop of hamadryas baboons, Papio hamadryas. Observations were done in the Russian Primate Center, Adler in 1996-1997. Redirected aggression, initiation of affiliation from the side of victims towards third parties and consolation were registered during this study. The analyses was done on 445 PC-MC pairs of animals, represented different social classes (harem male-female pairs, harem females, relations, females from different harems, male-male pairs, female-subadult pairs). The attracted-pairs method and the time-rule method were used. Redirected aggression was practiced mainly by male aggressees. It was typical for victims, both males and females, to initiate affiliative interactions with third parties soon after the conflict. Consolation was practiced by hamadryas baboons, but it was limited to harem male-female pairs only. Special affiliative patterns were used by male-consoler. This is the first case, when consolation was demonstrated in baboons.