Baboon Siblings Mirror Human Jealousy

Scientists have observed behaviors in baboons that strikingly mirror patterns of sibling jealousy seen in humans. Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland studied two troops of wild chacma baboons in central Namibia between August and December 2021.

The study focused on 16 families, totaling 49 young baboons, observing their interactions with mothers. Scientists noted that young baboons were more likely to interrupt their mother's grooming of a sibling compared to when the mother was simply resting.

This interruption could manifest as biting, slapping, crying, or seeking affection. Interestingly, older baboons were less inclined to disrupt their mother's private grooming time with a sibling. However, the displays of jealousy did not appear to offer significant immediate advantages.

Baboon mothers stopped grooming one offspring for a jealous sibling only about 20 percent of the time. Furthermore, the mother would only commence grooming the jealous baboon in just nine percent of these instances, indicating limited effectiveness of such outbursts.