Humans are intelligent and social animals. We are devious in fending off competition, we use guile and strategy to attract partners, and we extend acts of kindness towards friends in need. Many people suffer through the inanity of reality TV for the odd glimpse of these social interactions. But humans aren't the only animals with complex social lives - those of chimps are just as fascinating and news of their exploits can be found in scientific journals.
Just this week, two new papers shed new light on the rich social lives of chimps. They are filled with just as much drama and deception as our own (and probably more intelligence than your average episode of Big Brother). I'll be writing about the results of these papers over the next two posts.
The first study looks at how chimps react to anxiety in other chimps. They will often extend companionship to ...
