Gorilla Tag

Never underestimate the power of play. Scientists studying videos of gorillas play fighting in zoos have found that this “game of tag” helps the apes deal with real conflict and develop more refined and sophisticated communication skills. It also reveals much about their behavior.

Their research is published online today in the journal Biology Letters.

Author and behavioral biologist Marina Davila Ross, PhD, of the University of Portsmouth (UK) states that, “Our findings on gorilla play show important similarities with the children’s game of tag. Not only did the gorillas in our study hit their playmates and then run away chased by their playmates, but they also switched their roles when hit so the chaser became the chased and vice versa.”

And there’s a lot to that simple game of tag. According to the blog “80beats” (Discover):

Those who are lower on the social ladder tend to be the instigators of the game, trying to get a leg up or an ego boost from besting a gorilla with more social status. Thus, she argues, the gorillas are aware of social inequities, and the competition of playing tag teaches them how to deal with unfair situations by seizing a competitive advantage, like smacking your friend and then running away.

The research is also the first to consider if animals respond to unfair situations in a natural social setting. New Scientist remarks:

Other primates have been shown to have a sense of fairness, as have a wide range of social animals such as dogs, but always in controlled, experimental situations. Davila-Ross’s study is the first to use spontaneous social interactions to suggest that primates have a sense of what's fair and what’s not.

(Videos of the games of tag can be found on both the Discover and New Scientist sites.)

Image courtesy of University of Portsmouth