Mama, a chimpanzee matriarch, was near death, but when a biologist she had known for forty years came to visit, she showed joy through her smile, her sounds, and gentle strokes of his hair and pats on his head. She then gave him a last hug. This demonstration showed emotions and feelings that all of us primates share. Author Frans de Waal is a primatologist who has studied animal emotions and associated facial expressions, sounds, gestures, and behaviors. Some of the many emotions all primates share include sadness, happiness, love, hate, anger, fear, disgust, shame, guilt, depression, pride, sympathy, empathy, affection, and sexual desire.
De Waal states: "I believe that all the emotions we are familiar with can be found one way or another in all mammals." "Primates are made to be social, made to care about each other, made to get along, and the same applies to us." "Emotions can be good, bad, and ugly, which is as true for animals as it is for us."
All primates including humans have many similar physical characteristics like having hands, forward facing eyes, and large brains. We also have similar emotions, facial expressions, and gestures. Even our behaviors are similar. Frans de Waal writes about animal emotions and what they tell us about ourselves.
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