Molaso, an adolescent female bonobo, seems thrilled to "groom" my arm and head. This photo was taken in 1994 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).Studies suggest that grooming reduces stress because the pulling of hair releases endorphins, the body's natural pain-killers. I can attest that Molaso would start by looking intently for small grit (I sprinkled sand on my arms to test this), but then finish by plucking single hairs.
Interestingly, many bonobos groom the hair from each other's forehead, perhaps because they like to gaze into each other's eyes. This may not be an artifact of captivity, because I have seen photographs of wild bonobos with bare brows.
Photo by B. Messinger
No comments:
Post a Comment