News Animals

In chimpanzees, peeing is contagious

This is the first study of copycat urination in an animal

Three chimpanzees are shown huddled around greenery in a Japanese sanctuary

These chimps at a sanctuary in Japan display surprisingly contagious bathroom behavior.

Kumamoto Sanctuary

By Gennaro Tomma

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

Hate waiting in line for the bathroom? Chimpanzees have a social solution: Go all at once.

A new study shows that peeing is contagious in chimpanzees, making it “the first study to investigate contagious urination in animals, including humans,” says Shinya Yamamoto, an animal behavior scientist at Kyoto University in Japan.