This month’s panel
Wesolveyour
wildlifemysteries.
Emailyourquestionsto
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Moreamazingfactsat
discoverwildlife.com
BENHOARE
Editorialconsultant
RICHARDJONES
Entomologist
BEHAVIOUR
A
ftera squabbleorscrap,social
speciesdooftenkissandmake
up.We’veseenthisineverything
fromcrowstodolphins,hyenas,
macaquesandchimpanzees.
Formeropponentsengageinsocial
grooming,embraceandgenerally
stayclose.Yettheprecisefunction
ofthisso-calledaffiliativebehaviour
is upforgrabs.Somezoologists
believeit servestorepairbroken
friendships,givenit occursmore
oftenbetweenindividualswith
previouslystrongbonds.This
is whyit is frequentlyknownas
reconciliation.Othersconsiderit
a formofstressalleviation– self-
soothing,perhaps.However,thefact
thatsuchreconciliationhasbeen
observedina widerangeofspecies
doesseemtosuggestthatthe
behaviourmaybeaneffectiveway
tominimisetheknock-oneffectsof
everydayconflicts.Whenyoulive
cheekbyjowl,squabblingis tobe
expected,soit’sjustaswell.
LeomaWilliams
Do animals make
up a er ghts?
LEOMAWILLIAMS
Sciencewriter
LAURIEJACKSON
Wildlifetourleader
LAURENPHARR
Ornithologist
GILLIANBURKE
Naturalist& TVpresenter
ELLENHUSAIN
Wildlifefilmmaker
S A R A G O O D A C R E
Geneticist
80 BBC Wildlife September 2020