The impact of Japanese primatology is not always recognized in the West—which is why I have called it a “silent invasion”—but we routinely name individual animals and track their social careers across multiple generations. This allows us to understand the kinship ties and friendships at the core of group life. Begun by Imanishi right after World War II, this method has become standard in work on long-lived mammals, from dolphins to elephants and primates.
