Meerkats in zoos don’t put as much effort into social niceties

Meerkats in zoos fight over food more aggressively, are pickier about which of their peers they groom and have less stable relationships than those living in the wild.

This may be due to living such a comfortable life, free of predators and with food and housing reliably available without having to work together for it, says Xareni Pacheco at the Autonomous University of Mexico State. “In a confined space, where conditions rarely change and are fairly predictable, individuals may freely adjust their social dynamics with the…