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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Matthew Weaver

Humans were not the only primates to get lockdown blues, UK study finds

A bonobo licking an ice lolly at Twycross zoo in July
A bonobo licking an ice lolly at Twycross zoo in July. Primate behaviour was normal again after visitors returned. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

Humans weren’t the only ones to develop bad habits during lockdown. According to new research, some primates in zoos became more solitary and sedentary, and others displayed more sexually and physically dominant behaviour.

The study compared the behaviour of bonobos, chimpanzees, baboons and gorillas in a zoo and safari park in 2020, when they were hidden from the gaze of humans during lockdown, with how they behaved after visitors returned.

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