Baboon Sibling Rivalry Suggests Monkeys Feel Jealousy Like People

A team of Finnish scientists spent most of 2021 in Tsaobis Nature Park in Namibia, following chacma baboon families from dusk till dawn. They frequently watched adolescent baboons try to steal their mother’s attention while a sibling, often younger, was being groomed.

Some threw tantrums; some wedged between mother and sibling; and some used trickery. Dr. Axelle Delaunay described one young female who lured her sister away with the promise of play and then took her place: "She played with her for about 10 seconds, just long enough to drive her away from mom," Dr.

Delaunay said. "It felt really strategic." In a study published Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers argued that jealousy best explains the behavior. Whether primates can experience complex emotions has been debated, but the authors say their observations offer strong evidence.

Namibia, Tsaobis Nature Park

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