Two young bonobos. Photo by Angi English via Flickr Creative Commons Young bonobos who grew up with their mothers aren’t shy about offering a sympathetic hug to a fellow ape in distress, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What’s more, they are quick to recover from their own upsetting experiences The findings suggest that young bonobos exhibit striking similarities in emotional development to human children, where the ability to control emotions, such as anger and sadness, is linked to the ability to empathize. In other words, for both humans and apes, the sooner they can get over their own emotional issues, the sooner they can help others. It has already been well documented by scientists that bonobos are the most “empathetic apes.” Another study earlier this year found that young bonobos frequently console and make up with their friends, not only with hugs, but also with sex. (In fact, throughout the...