Modern humans consider their pets as their own kids. They feed their pets, put them to sleep, shower them with affection and even talk to them. Pets, too, have long been cherished companions, although their emotional impact on human lives goes far beyond mere companionship. Scientists have claimed that modern humans do not do this alone; as this tendency is found in all primate mammals. Perhaps, the tendency to keep pets developed in modern humans through heredity.

A team of scientists studied two young eastern chimpanzees – Ishe and Dembe – in the forests of Uganda for a long time to learn how they grow, play and learn social rules. One day, they spotted a red-tailed monkey approaching the two chimpanzees who were leaping from branch to branch through the dense jungle canopy. They feared that Ishe and Dembe might attack the monkey. However, the two chimpanzees calmly began stroking the animal and grooming its tail, instead of displaying aggression. The gesture was against the basic characteristic of chimpanzees who often attack other primates. After conducting research, scientists discovered that not only humans, but all primates – mammals of the monkey family – possess a tendency to keep pets. The research paper has been published in the journal Primates.

Humans usually keep some animals as pets for companionship or for a specific purpose or to gain social status. Actor Nicolas Cage once owned a rare two-headed gopher snake, named Harvey; while drug lord Pablo Escobar built a massive private zoo at his 7,400-acre estate, Hacienda Nápoles, during the early 1980s. Research suggests that the tendency to keep pets stems from our evolutionary history. Zoë Goldsborough, a Behavioural Ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, stressed: “There are theories that pet-keeping began either because animals were useful for tasks, like hunting and protection, or because humans have a natural tendency to care for and bond with other living beings.”

In 1914, quarry workers discovered the 14,000-year-old remains of a man (aged 35-45), a woman (aged 20-25) and a dog in Oberkassel (now a suburb of Bonn), Germany. It is one of the oldest known joint graves of humans and a canine companion. However, scientists are of the opinion that modern humans used to keep pets long before that. Dr Harold Herzog, a Psychologist at Western Carolina University, stated: “Unfortunately, we have no idea how long humans have been bringing animals into their lives as pets.”

Once, Dr Cyril Grueter, an Associate Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford’s Institute of Human Sciences and a Tutorial Fellow in Human Sciences at Wadham College, visited a zoo in Shanghai and observed a female northern white-cheeked gibbon was holding and caressing a mouse that had wandered into its enclosure. The scene made it somewhat clear to Dr Grueter why people keep furry creatures as pets at home. Thereafter, Dr Grueter and his colleagues conducted experiments on 88 primates and observed the tendency to keep pets among all of them.

Researchers also observe that primates, especially great apes, like chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos, often show a deep fondness for small animals. Monkeys sometimes keep and care for small animals, like birds, lizards and squirrels. Young monkeys also play with these creatures, showing gentle behaviour and social interaction outside their own species. Scientists further observe that primates play with young animals. In fact, adult female primates nurture these creatures and gently behave with them. However, some male monkeys have become agitated upon seeing other animals.

According to Dr Grueter, most of the monkeys attempt to alleviate their loneliness by nurturing other animals. And, they have been doing so since ancient times. However, scientists have not yet been able to determine for how many hundreds of thousands of years primates have been keeping pets.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das