(Our happy hour fact to amaze your drinking buddies with.)

Chimpanzees pay back members of their troop who do them favors, and ignore those who act selfishly.

Grooming is a staple of the chimp lifestyle, and researchers have always wondered what triggers an ape to spend time and energy plucking ticks out of the fur of another. In 3,000 hours of observing wild chimpanzees, behavioral ecologist Christina Gomes discovered that two-thirds of all grooming sessions aren't immediately reciprocated. Yet, over time, chimps usually remember to get back those who literally got their back, and give the cold shoulder to those who didn't.

When analyzing the results, Gomes and her team controlled for factors such as age, hierarchy and sex -- suggesting chimps connect with their chosen friends on an emotional level and enjoy doing favors for them.

Chimps can also be surprisingly vicious creatures, prone to fits of genital-ripping rage. However, we feel this study indicates they are probably less likely to castrate a friend.

Click here to have Happy Hour Hero delivered to your desktop every pour time.

The new Happy Hour Hero widget brings amazing facts and figures to your desktop, MySpace page, Facebook profile, or blog:



loading...