Postconflict behavior of spectacled leaf monkeys (Trachypithecus obscurus). I. Reconciliation

Studies of postconflict behavior have focused on Old World primates partic ularly on members of the cercopithecines and chimpanzees. We present data on patterns of reconciliation in two captive groups of spectacled leaf monkeys, members of the Colobinae, Reconciliation occurred at a high rate relative to that in other primate species and within the first minute following a conflict. Friendly posrconflict contact was usually initiated by aggressors in one group, and by recipients in the other. But, there was no difference in postconflict initiative To contact in comparison with MCs, These two groups showed behavioral specificity in the context of postconflict reunions Ventroventral embracing was a common, explicit (de Waal, 1993) form of reconciliation, The intensity of aggression and situations in which the victim responded aggressively had no effect on the likelihood of reconciliation occurring, The postconflict behavior of both groups lends further support to the relationship-quality hypothesis (Aureli et al,, 1989), Kinship and rank distance and had no effect on reconciliation, though affiliation levels correlated positively with the tendency to reconcile. These results indicate that spectacled langurs are among the more tolerant of the species studied so far.