Chimpanzees Are Altruistic Animals, Study Finds
A study of chimpanzees finds that they are altruistic and would prefer to share with other chimpanzees than to receive individual benefits. This finding is different than past research, explained by the researchers as a function of study design, as the tasks they were asked to preform were not as complicated as in past studies.
Chimpanzees were trained to recognize that one color of token resulted in food for oneself while another color could be traded for food for oneself and another chimpanzee. The chimpanzees regularly traded in the token that allowed them to share food, even when that was not requested by the other chimpanzee.
This finding provides evidence that chimpanzees are altruistic in nature.