Reconciliation, Consolation, and Redirection in Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata)

Abstract

AbstractWe studied the occurrence of social interactions after agonistic conflicts in captiveJapanese macaques. We collected data on one group during the mating and the non-mating season and on another group during the mating season only. We compared the social interactions of the victim soon after a conflict with the social interactions of the same individual during control periods, using two different methods. The results obtained with the two methods were very consistent. We found clear evidence for the occurrence of reconciliation and redirection. However, there was no evidence for consolation even when we considered only affiliation between the victim and its own kin or between the victim and the aggressor's kin. Separate analyses for the two groups and the two seasons yielded very similar results.