- Researchers studying animals in captivity found those with outgoing personalities lives up to 10 years longer
- Trait mirrors findings in humans
By Mark Prigg
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Gorillas with outgoing characters live longer - just like humans, according to new research.
A study of great apes who were followed in captivity for 18 years found those most extrovert outlasted their quieter peers by up to 10 years.
Gorillas normally live for between 35 and 40 years.
Researchers have discovered the gorillas who have extroverted personal live on average 30 percent longer than introvertet animals
THE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLA
The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is a subspecies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and is the one most commonly seen in zoos.
They live in forests and lowland swamps in central Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
The research to assess the relationship between personality and longevity mirrors findings among humans.
Personality traits such as being friendly, optimistic, easygoing and enjoying laughter as well as keeping active have been shown to be an important part of remaining healthy into old age.
The latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, suggests this association may have been present in an ancestor common to humans and gorillas.
It highlights fitness benefits of character traits and how understanding the natural history of personality is vital to insuring the continued health and well-being of gorillas and other great apes, including ourselves.
Dr Alex Weiss and colleagues said gorillas shared a common ancestor with humans about 10 million years ago and analysis of their DNA showed 30 per cent is closer to us than chimpanzees.
His team studied the behaviour of 283 western lowland gorillas in zoos across America between 1993 and 2011, during which time 119 died aged between two and fifty five.
Dr Weiss, of the University of Edinburgh, said: 'A large body of literature indicates that who we are or our ‘character’ has major consequences related to our health.'
Less neuroticism and more conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience and aspects of extroversion and activity are related to reduced risk of death, but humans are not the only primate for which personality is a determinant of health.
Kukena the baby western lowland gorilla clings to his mum Salome at Bristol Zoo Gardens. Researchers say that extrovert gorillas live longer - a trait they share with humans
Studies of rhesus macaques found ‘nervous temperament’ was associated with illness and sociability was associated with better immune response.
Dr Weiss said: “These and similar studies suggest insights into personality evolution can be gained from studying personality and health outcomes in sets of closely related species.”
More extroverted gorillas lived more than 30 percent longer than their more introverted peers irrespective of age or sex, rearing condition or how many times the animal was transferred.
Dr Weiss said: 'This finding is consistent with human studies and suggests the association between extraversion and longevity may have been present in the common ancestor shared by humans and gorillas.
'We would thus expect to find similar associations between extraversion and longevity in chimpanzees and bonobos who share this common ancestor.'
He said like rhesus macaques, being outgoing could be a biomarker for differences in the functioning of the immune system.
Secondly, gorilla extroversion could be related to stronger social ties and support that, as in humans, buffer individuals from the effects of environmental stressors.
Another possibility is shyness could be linked to cardiovascular disease, the primary cause of mortality in captive gorillas.
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