Male bonobos are larger and stronger than females, so researchers have found it puzzling that the female apes enjoy high status in bonobo society. After analyzing three decades of behavioral data, researchers recently shared a study that pinpoints their source of power: female alliances and coalitions. “Only [among] bonobos, females form coalitions to gain power over males,” the study’s lead author Martin Surbeck of Harvard University told Mongabay by email. Surbeck said there are other examples of animal species in which females are dominant over males, including spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). What sets bonobos (Pan paniscus) apart is how they dominate. Researchers analyzed 30 years of demographic and behavioral data from six wild bonobo communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and found that “the propensity of females to form coalitions against males was positively associated with the degree of power that females had over males.” While females “often had power over males,” it was not exclusive or consistent. Of the 1,786 conflicts recorded, 61.5% were won by females compared with 38.5% won by males. The majority, or 85%, of such incidents were directed at males, the rest against females. “To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that female solidarity can invert the male-biased power structure that is typical of many mammal societies,” Surbeck said in a press release. “It’s exciting to find that females can actively elevate their social status by supporting each other.” The formation of female coalitions was often triggered…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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