A comparative study of reconciliation in rhesus and Tonkean macaques

Post-conflict affiliative contacts between previous opponents were compared in rhesus and Tonkean macaques (Macaca mulatta, M. tonkeana). The first contact mostly occurred in the first minute following conflict. Among unrelated females, conciliatory tendencies rated fivefold higher in Tonkean macaques than in rhesus macaques. This held for other age-and-sex categories as well. Conciliatory tendencies in Tonkean macaques were similar for related and unrelated partners. In rhesus macaques, conciliatory tendencies were more elevated within kin. The results indicate that reconciliation behaviors covary, along with interspecific variation in aggression and dominance patterns among macaques.