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Mother–infant bonds in wild chimpanzees resemble those of humans

The observation of bonding behaviours in wild chimpanzees suggests that some aspects of human attachment have a deep evolutionary origin.
By
  1. Andrew Mitchinson
Chimpanzee infant male being comforted by his mother while she tries to crack nuts in Guinea.

Credit: Anup Shah/Getty

The bonds of affection between human mothers and their children are crucial for infant well-being. This suggests that such bonds might have a long evolutionary history. Writing in Nature Human Behaviour, Rolland et al. report evidence of human-like mother–infant bonding in wild Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus, pictured). The observations improve researchers’ understanding of these ‘attachment’ behaviours in our closest living primate relatives (E. Rolland et al. Nature Hum. Behav. https://doi.org/pmqj; 2025).

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Nature 641, 856 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01557-3

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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