Roatti, V;
Delaunay, A;
Cowlishaw, G;
Huchard, E;
Carter, A;
(2026)
Growing up wild: social learning opportunities during foraging in immature baboons.
Animal Behaviour
, Article 123463. 10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123463.
(In press).
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Abstract
Immature individuals may play an important role in group-level information transmission because they learn socially more than adults. However, little is known about social learning during development, particularly in nontool-using species. Our aim was to determine how immatures' social learning opportunities during foraging changed with age and differed between the sexes, and from whom immatures had more opportunities to learn. Behavioural data on 53 immature wild chacma baboons, Papio ursinus , were collected across 2 years, recording all behaviours associated with social learning in other species: observing others while foraging, inspecting or eating food dropped by others, sniffing others' mouths, stealing food from others, joining the same location that others are foraging and eating the same food. Results showed that immatures had relatively more opportunities to learn from others before and around the weaning period, but no sex differences were found. Immatures had more opportunities to learn from individuals in proximity when they were young, but their learning opportunities were limited to relatively more specific ‘demonstrators’ (that is, possible learning partners) when older. In general, immatures had relatively more opportunities to learn from grooming affiliates and individuals of a similar age as themselves. Immature males had less opportunities to learn from grooming partners compared with female peers. Finally, high-ranking immatures had greater opportunities to learn socially compared with low-ranking peers. The relatively greater social learning opportunities of immatures around weaning could improve their independent foraging competence before being weaned. In addition, tolerance, through shared proximity and grooming, may be important in determining from whom immatures have greater opportunities to learn. Baboons live in a matrilineal society with a high degree of nepotism; thus, the greater opportunities of immatures to learn from tolerant individuals may translate into a higher within-matriline versus across-matriline information spread, which could limit group-level information transmission.
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