Grooming Gallery: Chimps Get Social

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Wrist to Wrist

Chimpanzees grasping hands during grooming

(Image credit: Mark Bodamer)

Chimps at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust (CWOT) engage in a wrist-to-wrist grasp while grooming.

Chimps Groom and Grasp

Chimpanzees grasping hands during grooming

(Image credit: Mark Bodamer)

Two groups of chimpanzees at CWOT engage in hand-clasping behavior, but only one does a wrist-to-wrist grasp.

Palm-to-Palm

Chimpanzees grasping hands during grooming

(Image credit: Mark Bodamer)

Chimpanzees groom one another while grasping hands palm-to-palm.

Chimp Hand-Holding

Chimpanzees grasping hands during grooming

(Image credit: Mark Bodamer)

Chimpanzees in a wrist-to-wrist grooming grasp.

Chimps Grooming

Chimpanzees grasping hands during grooming

(Image credit: Mark Bodamer)

Not all groups of chimpanzees engage in hand-holding, suggesting that the practice might be cultural.

Young Chimp Grooming

Chimpanzees grasping hands during grooming

(Image credit: Mark Bodamer)

A young chimp at CWOT grooms with hands held high.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science. She covers the world of human and animal behavior, as well as paleontology and other science topics. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has ducked under a glacier in Switzerland and poked hot lava with a stick in Hawaii. Stephanie hails from East Tennessee, the global center for salamander diversity. Follow Stephanie on Google+.