what's the proper social response after seeing animals havin

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I went to the zoo some years ago. I was checking out the monkeys, and there was a woman standing next to me. All of a sudden two monkeys in front of us started having sex. I felt very awkward and did not know what to do. I believe that the woman standing next to me also felt the awkwardness, because I briefly saw her staring at me after I stepped away from the action and timidly searched for a new spot in the exhibit. What should have been the proper social response?

It all depends on you. everybody has to decide for themselves what is an appropriate responce. I'm pretty out there so I most likely would have made vulgar gesters towards her just to see what she'd do. I like to startle people into making unprogrammed responces so don't do what I'd do.

I never even thought to wonder if there was one.

Well if there is, I do not know what it is. The women might have been discomforted because there is one and you did not comply with it, but it seems likely to me that perhaps she was uncomfortable precisely because there was not a social convention governing appropriate response for her to rely on.

Personally, I imagine mating monkeys would be somewhat interesting, so I'd probably have been too busy observing them to even have the cognitive resources to consider that there might be some social expectation I was supposed to be complying with.

I don't say anything.

Point and say 'those monkeys are doing it!'
Isn't that what most NT's would do?

I don't think there is a proper social response. That's one of those things that people just tend to feel awkward about. Sometimes people use humor in a situation like that. I bet that lady was looking at you to gauge your reaction, to try and guess whether it would be appropriate for her to make a humorous comment.

There is a facial expression that I can see in my mind's eye, but I'm not sure how to describe. It's the "I'm pretending, in a comical way, that I did not see that" look. You kind of look up at the clouds and whistle, or pretend to whistle, and then look at the other person and smile. Something like that would be fine.

What you did was also fine and appropriate.

i woulda walked away muttering loudly about 'spankin the monkey' yeah...i turn EVERYTHING into a joke....

root for them?

I think most people use humour to get around embarrassment.

Point to the male monkey and say, "That monkey better be using protection". jk I would say nothing.

The proper social response would be to fart loudly so that she instantly forgets about the monkey sex awkwardness.

Personally, I think I'd just laugh.

It was probably awkard because she thought you were watching them.