Social media is full of pictures of “smiling” dogs, cats, monkeys and many other animals. The shape of the beak then resembles the shape of the human smile. Only, those animals don’t laugh. Their facial features work differently. Even monkeys, closest to humans (we are all primates), don’t have the same facial expressions. The chimpanzees, dressed up with a grin, are often scared or have learned a trick. They don’t laugh. It’s just sad.
Much research is still being done on emotions in animals. Also the way they are expressed. We still don’t know everything about it. When a monkey shows its teeth, it often means aggression or fear. The gelada below give yet another message with their “smiling face”. The position of the eyebrows is also important. Geladas communicate a lot with sounds and their faces. Very interesting to watch, but I don’t understand what they say.
What I’m pretty sure is:
- That the gorilla doesn’t kiss
- That the geladas are not laughing
- That the white-faced saki is not sad
- Etc.
Other than that, I’ll wait until the research is more advanced. And I read about, what is already known. It continues to fascinate me.
I share photos with primates with some more pronounced expressions.
