| Abstract: | This study was designed to characterize the proximity relationships among 20 immature Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) of the same age in a free-ranging group during the first 4 years of life. Most male and female immature monkeys showed a consistent preference for proximity within their cohort to certain same-sex individuals whose dominance ranks were immediately adjacent to their own throughout the first 4 years. Such prolonged proximity relationships between peers of the same sex were largely a reflection of those between their mothers. Therefore, the proximity relationships between peers seem to be formed under the influence of social relationships between the mothers. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
