Author: malarl

Do monkeys have pets of their own? A new study by an international team of researchers, including Dr Arlet from the Thenmala Macaque Project, showed that interactions between primates and members of other species are a surprisingly common part of their behaviour. The study has been published in Primates. The researchers analysed 427 documented cases of interactions between 88 non-human primate species and members of other species, covering observations made from the 1970s through 2025. We know that different animal species often live alongside one another. This time, however, the researchers focused on something different: social interactions between primates and members of other species. Their unusual social partners included sheep, tapirs, deer, domestic pigs, cats and dogs, as well as owls, lizards, toads and even insects. The most frequently observed behaviours were play and mutual grooming. The researchers also documented instances of carrying, cuddling and food sharing with members of other species, and, in some cases, even adoption. Interestingly, most of the interactions analysed were initiated by the primates themselves. Perhaps the most fascinating finding is that some of the traits underlying these relationships – curiosity, tolerance, care and play – may have deep evolutionary roots. Studying them can help us better understand how social relationships evolved in primates, including humans. After all, while the idea of a “pet” is most commonly associated with the relationship between humans and animals, the tendency to form unusual bonds may have a much longer evolutionary history.

a: photo by Nicholas Chapoy; b: photo by Sabit Hasan; c: photo by Senthi Aathavan Senthilverl, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; d: photo by Neil Challis; e: photo by Cyril Grueter; f: photo by Alexandre Bonnefoy and Cédric Sueur; g: photo by Yanpeng Li; h: photo by Timothy Eppley

Source of the photo and full text of the article:
Grueter, C.C., Roncin, F., Nekaris, K.AI. et al. Heterospecific social behavior in primates: insights into the evolutionary roots of pet-keeping. Primates (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-026-01281-0

On September 10th, 2023, the Thenmala Macaque Project in collaboration with the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary organized a seminar at the Forest Information Centre of the Shendurney Wildlife Division in Thenmala. The aim of the seminar was to raise awareness amongst the locals in Thenmala on Primate Conservation in India. The talk was given by Prof. Mewa Singh from the University of Mysore.

The seminar was presided over by Ms. Sudha Gouri Lekshmi, Ecotourism Programme Officer, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Thenmala, staff and members of the Shendurney Wildlife Department, students of Prof. Mewa Singh along with our team led by Prof. Małgorzata Arlet (AMU, Poland).

Prof. Mewa, during his talk, discussed the rising problem of rapid decrease in green cover due to urbanization which has led to the loss of natural macaque habitat, leading to increased Human – Macaque conflicts. He spoke about the bonnet macaques having learnt to process anthropogenic food to suit their palate and how the macaques have started preferring human settlements due to the abundance of food resources available.

He also addressed the grievances of the locals regarding macaques entering their properties in search of food, which leads to increased human-macaque conflict and suggested possible solutions to avoid possible conflicts in the future.

We ended the seminar with the hope that the message of conserving macaques has reached the audience.

With the support of the forest department, our team plans to conduct more such sessions to spread awareness regarding the importance of conservation of macaques, while also striving to reduce human-macaque conflicts through constant educative interactions with the locals.

Last weekend (October 23^rd, 2021), the Thenmala Macaque Project organised a short awareness workshop in collaboration with the Shendurney Wildlife Division. It was held at the Forest Information Centre, Shendurney in Thenmala. The topic of the workshop was human-macaque interactions and conflict resolutions.

The aim of the meeting was to raise awareness among three local community members from the Ecotourism Development Committee. The workshop was presided over by B Sajeev Kumar, Wildlife Warden, C Ajayan, Assistant Wildlife Warden, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Santhosh, Junior Executive, Thenmala Ecotourism Authority, staff and members of Thenmala and Shendurney Wildlife Department along with our team led by Professor Małgorzata Arlet (AMU, Poland).

We discussed the current status of bonnet macaques, issues concerning human-macaque interactions in the area, and possible resolutions to avoid conflict.

In the near future, our team along with the support from the Forest Department plan to conduct more of such awareness programs for other communities that face human-macaque conflict.