Recent research has revealed that chimpanzees are not shy when it comes to their bathroom habits.

A research team dedicated over 600 hours to observe 20 captive chimpanzees, discovering that these animals may exhibit a behavior known as socially contagious urination. This means that one chimp’s urination can prompt another to do the same after witnessing it. The study, spearheaded by Ena Onishi, a Ph.D. student at Kyoto University’s Wildlife Research Center in Japan, highlights this intriguing behavior.

The idea of socially contagious urination isn’t entirely new; humans have also been known to influence each other’s bathroom schedules. However, this study hints at the possibility that the behavior stems from deeper evolutionary processes.

In chimpanzees, this synchronized urination could play a significant role in building and maintaining social connections and might also be important for preparing for group activities like traveling long distances or marking territory, as noted in their findings published in “Current Biology.”

But how did researchers observe this collective urination among chimpanzees?

Research Methodology for Observing Chimp Urination Patterns

Onishi and her team focused on 20 socialized chimpanzees—16 males and 4 females.

To explore whether the urination synchronized was influenced by external conditions—such as water availability or outdoor settings—or if it was indeed social contagion, the team organized the chimps into groups of four, varying their distances apart.

The chimps were arranged at three different intervals: within an arm’s reach, within three meters (roughly 9.8 feet), and beyond three meters. The findings showed that those chimps who were situated closer to one another were more inclined to urinate at the same time, further supporting the theory of socially contagious urination.

Interestingly, the study also discovered that the social dynamics and ranking within the chimp group did not impact how frequently this socially contagious urination happened.

Future research on wild chimpanzee populations will be a crucial next step, as stated in the study.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross.