Primate Ethology

This is a groundbreaking work in the field of ethology- the zoological study of animal behavior�which was rapidly gaining ground in the 1960s when this collection was first published. These specially commissioned papers bought together studies of monkeys and apes from both the laboratory and the field. All of the contributors had been trained in the Lorenz/Tinbergen school and included Jane Goodall, R. Hinde and Y. Spencer-Booth, M. Moynihan, T.E. Rowell, Caroline Loizos, John Sparks, Wolfgang Wickler, and J. van Hooff. Many broad aspects of primate life, including facial expressions, sexual signals, grooming, play, social organization and parental care, are covered by the contributors and provided a whole new approach to primate behavior.

As Morris points out in his introduction: "Most primate research behavior workers have, in fact, been drawn from the worlds of psychology and anthropology, and too little attention has been paid to detailed observation and motor pattern description." From 1956 he became seriously involved in the making of films and television programs about animal behavior and began studying the artistic abilities of apes. This was followed by the authorship of a number of natural history books and by the hosting of a popular TV program Zootime over several years. In 1959 he was appointed curator of mammals at the London Zoo. Between 1959 and 1967 he was responsible for the authorship of many natural history books, sometimes in co-authorship with his wife.