BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-09)

This month’s panel

Wesolveyour

wildlifemysteries.

Emailyourquestionsto

[email protected]

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 aer 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