First
time exact facial mimicry has been seen outside of humans and gorillas
Date: March 21, 2019
Source: University of Portsmouth
The
world's smallest bears can exactly mimic another bear's facial expressions,
casting doubt on humans and other primates' supremacy at this subtle form of
communication.
It is the
first time such exact facial mimicry has been seen outside of humans and
gorillas.
The
research, by Dr Marina Davila-Ross and PhD candidate Derry Taylor, both at the
University of Portsmouth, is published in Scientific Reports.
The
researchers studied sun bears -- a solitary species in the wild, but also
surprisingly playful -- for more than two years.
They
found bears can use facial expressions to communicate with others in a similar
way to humans and apes, strongly suggesting other mammals might also be masters
of this complex social skill and, in addition, have a degree of social
sensitivity.
Dr
Davila-Ross said: "Mimicking the facial expressions of others in exact
ways is one of the pillars of human communication. Other primates and dogs are
known to mimic each other, but only great apes and humans, and now sun bears,
were previously known to show such complexity in their facial mimicry.
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