Not only do people laugh

The foundation of laughter can be traced back to an ancient primate that is the ancestor of both humanity and modern human ape. Scientists have discovered that orangutans know sympathy and imitation, an essential part of making so laughter.

(Photo: Telegraph) The facial expressions, like opening the mouth, looking like a smile, are recognized and imitated by orangutans. The speed at which they imitate shows that these expressions are not intentional. In other words, laughter has spread.

Dr. Marina Davila Ross at the University of Portsmouth, England, and Professor Elke Zimmermann at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany, have studied the behavior of 25 orangutans aged 2 to 12 in 4 world primate centers. gender. When an orangutan opened her mouth wide, her comrades had the same face after only half a second.

"In humans, imitating other people's behaviors is deliberate and unintentional. No evidence has previously been given that animals have a similar reaction."

"What draws on are the foundations of positive emotional transmission, which involves imitating unintentional facial expressions in humans, which were actually born before humans appeared," said Davila Ross. determined.

MT