Primate Social Behavior Essay

Words: 492
Pages: 2

Primates are a close genetic family member to modern humans, and that leads to human characteristics, such as social interaction and behavior, to also be within the normal behavior of primates. While humans have progressed to a point that all of communication does not involve survival, for primates it very much does. It is this social interaction that allows primates to form a "society" of sorts and to form a group for survival as well as reproduction. Survival is a very important aspect of social interaction in primates. Chimpanzees often form long term alliances for grooming, traveling, among others (Larsen, 2014). It is this cohesiveness that allows the chimpanzee groups to compete with not only other chimpanzees but predators as well. The social behaviors of grooming and foraging for food depend on a cohesive group, and this is only possible through social interaction and behavior. Another key aspect of social behavior and how that relates to survival is reproduction and mating. Competition between males for a desirable female to mate with is key to their physical and reproductive fitness. Growth as a result of competition for mating causes changes in the male primate like increases in body and canine size (Larsen, …show more content…
Reproduction is not only a chief concern for the males of the society, but it also secures a mate for companionship. Primates are very social creatures, meaning they thrive in the confines of a community. This sort of interaction not only strengthens the chance for survival as a cohesive unit, but it leads to further interactions not directly involved with survival, such as knowledge of very basic tools for tasks. Once a primate learns a task that is beneficial to its community, that knowledge is passed through the community so that all know it and can benefit by