The New York Times has a charming article about research into animals (or at least, primates) that seem to enjoy treating certain other animals as "pets":
Humans Love Having Pets. Seems Like Some Other Primates Do, Too.
We aren’t the only animals that like to take care of other species. A new study finds that the roots of keeping a pet may stretch deep into our primate past.
Some people in comments point out that other, non mammalian, animals also can strike up unusual bonds - geese that guard ducks is mentioned, for example.
The article doesn't seem to address the question of empathy, which certainly seems to be behind a lot of human concern for the well being of their pets. In other words, do primates showing concern for grooming and caring for other furry things show an evolutionary thing about empathy?
(John: I'm probably thinking of this because I think it was you who recommended The Age of Empathy, which I did download, but have not got around to reading yet.)
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