THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF POST-CONFLICT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FEMALE BABOONS

In many primate species, former opponents engage in friendly behaviour s after aggressive conflicts. These kinds of interactions are labelled reconciliation because they are thought to repair relationships damag ed by conflicts and help to preserve group cohesion. This study assess ed the form and function of reconciliation between free-ranging female baboons, Papio cynocephalus ursinus, in the Okavango Delta of Botswan a. The rate of interaction between former opponents was higher during the minutes that followed conflicts than in the days that preceded or followed conflicts. Baboons reconciled vocally, grunting quietly to th eir former opponents after conflicts ended. Grunts after conflicts fac ilitated infant handling. Females were particularly likely to reconcil e with high-ranking opponents, the mothers of young infants and relate d mothers of older infants. Reconciliation had no consistent effect up on the rate of interactions during the days that followed conflicts. T his study is the first to demonstrate that primates reconcile vocally and the first to assess the long-term consequences of reconcilation in a naturalistic setting. (C) 1996 The Association for the Study of Ani mal Behaviour