Data from: Social hair plucking across affiliative and agonistic contexts, with health considerations, in captive rhesus macaques (<em>Macaca mulatta</em>)

The study investigated social hair plucking (SHP) in captive rhesus macaques, focusing on its association with grooming, aggression, and health factors like alopecia and hair cortisol levels. Conducted on seven mixed-sex groups, the research found that SHP rates were similar to grooming and aggression, with directional rank flow akin to aggression and kin biases like grooming. SHP given was linked to shared kinship, suggesting social transmission, while SHP received was associated with alopecia. In females, SHP given correlated with hair cortisol concentrations, though with high uncertainty. The study concludes that SHP is an abnormal behavior with both prosocial and aggressive characteristics and health implications, recommending further research across species to understand its mechanisms and motivations.