Can A Monkey Have A Pet?

Key Points:

• In 2004, researchers observed a wild bearded capuchin monkey in Brazil adopting and raising a marmoset infant named Fortunata, demonstrating cross-species caregiving rarely seen in the wild.
• A 2024 review paper by Cyril Grueter and colleagues documented 427 cases of primates interacting with 127 other animal species, revealing a widespread capacity among primates for curiosity, tolerance, and social behavior toward different species.
• These cross-species interactions vary widely, from brief grooming or play to prolonged caregiving resembling adoption, and even to harmful behaviors like abduction, suggesting a continuum of relationships rather than clear-cut categories.
• The review proposes that proto-pet-keeping—long-term affiliative relationships with other species beyond parental care or survival benefits—may have evolutionary roots predating humans and is more common in captive or human-adjacent primates.
• Researchers emphasize the need for further study on why certain primates engage in these behaviors, considering individual personality, ecological context, and social learning, especially as human expansion brings wildlife closer to domestic animals.