The politics of playful primates
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Bonobos have a fluid society and engage in adult–adult play. Credit: Anup Shah/Nature Picture Library
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In human societies, authoritarian regimes tend to frown on playful behaviour in adults, whereas egalitarian societies have more tolerance for humour, creativity and frolic. Martina Francesconi at the University of Pisa in Italy and her colleagues sought to determine whether this tendency is also true for non-human primates.
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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01352-8
References
- Francesconi, M., Gamba, M., Burghardt, G., Pellis, S. & Palagi, E. Biol. Lett. 22, 20250597 (2026).
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Animal behaviour
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