In the week after Sierra died, Sylvia was withdrawn. When the other females were grooming and socializing, she tended to sit alone and rarely interacted even with her other relatives. |
Our findings do not necessarily suggest that baboons experience grief like humans do, but they do offer evidence of the importance of social bonds amongst baboons. Like humans, baboons seem to rely on friendly relationships to help them cope with stressful situations. |
Without Sierra, Sylvia really had nobody else. So great was her need for social bonding that Sylvia began grooming with a female of a much lower status, behavior that would otherwise be beneath her. |