Animals know the importance of kissing and making up after a
fight, an audience will be told at a Scottish university.
Reconciliation has been seen in many species Professor Frans de
Waal will discuss the importance of reconciliation in repairing
social relationships in the animal world. He said research among
primates and non-primates had suggested that such behaviour was
"widespread". The eminent scholar will deliver the Irvine
Lecture at St Andrews University on Monday. Professor de Waal
said: "Reconciliation - defined as a friendly reunion between
two individuals following conflict - has been confirmed in many
different primate species, in both captivity and the field, both
experimentally and observationally. "Chimpanzees, for instance,
kiss and embrace after fights. "Reconciliation has also been
demonstrated in non-primates, suggesting that the phenomenon is
widespread indeed." He said there was good evidence that it led
to the repairing of social relationships. Professor de Waal will
discuss how aggress