Social grooming

This article is about the social activity. For other uses, see Groom (disambiguation).

An adult olive baboon grooms a juvenile.
Two adult red wolves groom a juvenile.
A male cat grooms a female kitten.

Social grooming is a behavior in which social animals, including humans, clean or maintain one another's bodies or appearances. A related term, allogrooming, indicates social grooming between members of the same species. Grooming is a major social activity and a means by which animals who live in close proximity may bond, reinforce social structures and family links, and build companionship. Social grooming is also used as a means of conflict resolution, maternal behavior, and reconciliation in some species.[1][2] Mutual grooming typically describes the act of grooming between two individuals, often as a part of social grooming, pair bonding, or a precoital activity.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Henazi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference van Schaik was invoked but never defined (see the help page).