Contagious Urinations Cause Chimps to Go in Groups

Learn about a new study of captive chimpanzees, the first to identify the phenomenon of contagious urinations.

By Sam Walters
Jan 21, 2025 10:15 PMJan 21, 2025 10:17 PM
Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
When one goes, a group goes, according to recent research into chimp urination. (Credit: David Havel/Shutterstock)

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A new paper published in Current Biology suggests a novel twist on an old saying: Instead of "monkey see, monkey do," the paper proposes "chimp see, chimp pee." Well, not in so many words. But the study, which involved 20 captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary at Kyoto University, does suggest that when one chimp urinates, others urinate too.

“In humans, urinating together can be seen as a social phenomenon,” said Ena Onishi, a study author and a doctoral student at Kyoto University, in a press release. “This behavior, which is called tsureshon in Japanese, is represented in art across centuries and cultures and continues to appear in modern social contexts. Our research suggests that this phenomenon may have deep evolutionary roots.”


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