Bonobos in Congo form girl groups to fend off male aggression, study says

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN NEW YORK AP Female bonobos find strength in numbers teaming up to fend off males in the wild a new review finds Related Articles Trump science cuts roil university labs targeting bird feeder research AI literacy work and more A new Minnesota cover crop could help make air passage greener UMN St Paul researchers say Beyond Ivy League RFK Jr s NIH slashed science funding across states that backed Trump The return of an extinct wolf is not the answer to saving endangered species experts warn How to catch the shooting stars of spring s first meteor shower the Lyrids Along with chimpanzees bonobos are among humans closest relatives Scientists have long wondered why bonobos live in generally female-dominated societies since the males are physically bigger and stronger Three decades of observations in Congo the only place the endangered bonobos are exposed in the wild lend help to the idea of a sisterhood where female bonobos band together to assert their power These girl groups chased male bonobos out of trees securing food for themselves and females that grouped more ranked higher in their society s social ladder researchers detected This image provided by Martin Surbeck shows bonobos lounging on a fallen tree in the Congo in Martin Surbeck Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project via AP It s very clear that you don t want to overstep as a male bonobo declared examination author Martin Surbeck from Harvard University Findings were published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology Female bonobos combined numbers seem to turn the tide against a male s physical strength Surbeck declared It s one of the rare times such a strategy has allowed females to come out on top in the animal kingdom Spotted hyenas similarly find power in groups Female bonobos linked up even when they didn t have close ties supporting one another against the males and cementing their social standing The observations show how female bonobos work together to protect themselves from male violence revealed biological anthropologist Laura Lewis with the University of California Berkeley This image provided by Martin Surbeck shows bonobos resting and socializing on a fallen tree in the Congo in Martin Surbeck Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project via AP The findings aid the idea that humans and our ancestors have likely used coalitions to build and maintain power for millions of years Lewis who was not involved with the research disclosed in an email The Associated Press Physical condition and Science Department receives endorsement from the Howard Hughes Biological Institute s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content