Primate Behaviors

Today in science we learned about primate behaviors. We learned about 3 kinds aggressive behaviors, family relationships, and play behaviors. For agressive behavior I learned that they puff out their hair. That is kind of like when us humans get goose bumps. Also they will start charging at the animal that they are being agressive towards. This is like when we are running around or when a dog barks. They primates will strongly stare at the opponent. This is important because this shows territory and shows status. Normally if a fight is engaged then one of the primates will back down. We learned that primates have similar families to humans. The mother spends a lot of time with the baby. For the first couple of years the primate mother will carry her baby belly to belly or back-pack style. This is like how human mothers spend time with their child for the first couple of months. This is important because it forms a bond for the mother and baby. Also for primates the father sometimes stays around but other times they don't. As for siblings, the primates have a protective instinct. The other sibling will look out for the younger one while the mother is busy doing something. This is like humans because normally the older sibling is also very protective over the younger one. And lastly we learned about play behaviors. One primate will sometimes give another primate a out stretched hand, inviting them to play. The normally "rough house" and wrestle. It normally doesn't get too agressive and they normally don't get hurt. It is like when humans wrestle with their friends or siblings. This is important for primates because it helps them understand more about themselves. For an example, their limits (how much they can take) and others limits. This forms friendships which is really important because primates need friends too.