Copycat Monkeys: Macaque babies ape adults’ facial feats

Scientists for the first time have established that for a brief period after birth, baby monkeys imitate facial movements made by people and adult monkeys. This copycat capacity, until now observed only in human and chimpanzee infants, seems to have evolved in all these primates as a way to jump-start newborns’ face-to-face communication with adults, say evolutionary biologist Pier F.