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ysabetwordsmithA new study finds that baboons walk together in a line out of friendship, not survival
But the prevailing theory — and ultimate conclusion of the study — found that baboons simply preferred to walk beside their closest friends.
“We find no evidence that progression orders are adaptive responses to minimize an individuals’ risk, maximize their resource acquisition, or are the result of decision-makers leading the group,” Marco Fele, the study's lead author, wrote in Behavioral Ecology.
“Instead, we find that individuals’ positions are predicted by pairwise affiliations, resulting in consistency in order, with more dominant individuals occupying central positions in progressions.”
This likely happens among many other species that form social ties of subsets within a larger group. Frex, horses like to live in herds, but anyone who has watched horses will notice that they not only have a pecking order but also friend groups, typically 2-4 members, who like to hang out together, groom each other, etc. Among free-living horses who often travel long distances, I wouldn't be surprised to see them hiking in their friend-groups.
But the prevailing theory — and ultimate conclusion of the study — found that baboons simply preferred to walk beside their closest friends.
“We find no evidence that progression orders are adaptive responses to minimize an individuals’ risk, maximize their resource acquisition, or are the result of decision-makers leading the group,” Marco Fele, the study's lead author, wrote in Behavioral Ecology.
“Instead, we find that individuals’ positions are predicted by pairwise affiliations, resulting in consistency in order, with more dominant individuals occupying central positions in progressions.”
This likely happens among many other species that form social ties of subsets within a larger group. Frex, horses like to live in herds, but anyone who has watched horses will notice that they not only have a pecking order but also friend groups, typically 2-4 members, who like to hang out together, groom each other, etc. Among free-living horses who often travel long distances, I wouldn't be surprised to see them hiking in their friend-groups.
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Date: 2025-06-05 02:31 am (UTC)WOW!
Date: 2025-06-06 03:16 pm (UTC)