Bonobo females have achieved something incredible. In a male-dominated kingdom, they have turned the tables … Here’s how they did it.
Male bonobos may be larger than females, but bonobos follow a matriarchal social structure. So how do the females hold power and wield influence over their communities? A team of scientists from Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior said on April 24, 2025, that females form alliances to keep males in check.
The team published its study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on April 24, 2025.
Bonobos in the wild
The international team of researchers collected 30 years of data from six communities of wild bonobos across three field sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The researchers made their observations in the only country where bonobos live freely.
They observed that female bonobos decide when and with whom to mate. They easily reject unwanted sexual advances. And the males respect those decisions and don’t force the situation. Plus, the females control valuable, shareable resources. For example, they fed calmly on the ground without threats, while the males jumped between tree branches waiting their turn.
The study recorded 1,786 conflicts between males and females. Researchers found that females won 1,099 of these encounters. This offered some clues about what drives female power. When females formed alliances, they outranked the males. According to the study’s author, Martin Surbeck of Harvard University:
You can win a conflict by being stronger, by having friends to back you up, or by having something that someone wants and cannot take by force.
Strength in numbers
The researchers weren’t expecting to find female coalitions among the bonobos. In fact, these alliances form between females who aren’t even related. Adult females in these coalitions are unrelated immigrants from different communities, making their deep bonds and cooperation surprising. Surbeck commented:
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. It’s exciting to find that females can actively elevate their social status by supporting each other.
Surbeck, who leads the bonobo research station in Kokolopori, notes that you don’t often see coalitions in the wild. But it’s clear that when they form, they make waves.
Female bonobos gain power but not dominance
When female bonobos band together to make their displeasure known, their screams are so unbearably loud that co-author Barbara Fruth of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior said:
You have to block your ears.
Also, coalitions form just seconds after an incident begins. For example, if a male tries to harm an infant, the females scream and chase him through the trees, sometimes even causing him fatal injuries. According to Fruth:
It’s a ferocious way to assert power. You know why these males don’t try to overstep boundaries.
In the vast majority of coalitions (85% of those observed), the females collectively attacked males, forcing them into submission and shaping the new group hierarchy. However, when comparing the six studied bonobo communities, researchers noted variations among groups.
While the study showed that females won 61% of the conflicts and outranked 70% of the males on average, this doesn’t equate to domination. To be precise, females don’t dominate the males, they simply achieve a higher social status. Fruth said dominance is:
by no means the rule … It’s more accurate to say that in bonobo societies, females enjoy high status rather than unchallenged dominance.
Hidden ovulation
In their study, the scientists also discuss hidden ovulation as a second strategy females use. In bonobos — unlike in other species — females show no obvious physical signs of being in estrus. Female bonobos can mate at any time.
Therefore, females can choose whether or not to mate with a male. This hidden ovulation can impact bonobo social dynamics, since males don’t have clear cues about the optimal time for mating. This might be a strategy for controlling reproduction and male behavior.
The authors state that female reproductive autonomy almost certainly shifts the power dynamic between sexes. Since a female’s fertile window is hidden from the males, they benefit more by staying close to the females than by trying to coerce them aggressively into mating.
What can we learn from female bonobos?
Coalitions are a way for female bonobos to be empowered. The females join forces to suppress male aggression toward them. This is a first-ever demonstration of female bonobos maintaining power by forming alliances with other females.
Still, to better understand these coalition strategies, hidden ovulation, and other ideas, more research is needed. Fruth said:
I’m still puzzled why, of all animals, bonobos were the ones to form female alliances. We might never know, but it gives me a glimmer of hope that females of our closest living relatives, in our evolutionary line, teamed up to take the reins of power alongside males.
Bottom line: Female bonobos wield power and influence by creating alliances with other females. The females don’t dominate the males but enjoy a high status in their communities.
Source: Drivers of female power in bonobos
Via Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Read more: Orphaned bonobos can develop social skills and empathy
Read more: Bonobo chatter shares a unique feature with human speech
The post Female bonobos rule the bonobo kingdom. Girl power! first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/2j4uAJE
Bonobo females have achieved something incredible. In a male-dominated kingdom, they have turned the tables … Here’s how they did it.
Male bonobos may be larger than females, but bonobos follow a matriarchal social structure. So how do the females hold power and wield influence over their communities? A team of scientists from Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior said on April 24, 2025, that females form alliances to keep males in check.
The team published its study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on April 24, 2025.
Bonobos in the wild
The international team of researchers collected 30 years of data from six communities of wild bonobos across three field sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The researchers made their observations in the only country where bonobos live freely.
They observed that female bonobos decide when and with whom to mate. They easily reject unwanted sexual advances. And the males respect those decisions and don’t force the situation. Plus, the females control valuable, shareable resources. For example, they fed calmly on the ground without threats, while the males jumped between tree branches waiting their turn.
The study recorded 1,786 conflicts between males and females. Researchers found that females won 1,099 of these encounters. This offered some clues about what drives female power. When females formed alliances, they outranked the males. According to the study’s author, Martin Surbeck of Harvard University:
You can win a conflict by being stronger, by having friends to back you up, or by having something that someone wants and cannot take by force.
Strength in numbers
The researchers weren’t expecting to find female coalitions among the bonobos. In fact, these alliances form between females who aren’t even related. Adult females in these coalitions are unrelated immigrants from different communities, making their deep bonds and cooperation surprising. Surbeck commented:
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. It’s exciting to find that females can actively elevate their social status by supporting each other.
Surbeck, who leads the bonobo research station in Kokolopori, notes that you don’t often see coalitions in the wild. But it’s clear that when they form, they make waves.
Female bonobos gain power but not dominance
When female bonobos band together to make their displeasure known, their screams are so unbearably loud that co-author Barbara Fruth of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior said:
You have to block your ears.
Also, coalitions form just seconds after an incident begins. For example, if a male tries to harm an infant, the females scream and chase him through the trees, sometimes even causing him fatal injuries. According to Fruth:
It’s a ferocious way to assert power. You know why these males don’t try to overstep boundaries.
In the vast majority of coalitions (85% of those observed), the females collectively attacked males, forcing them into submission and shaping the new group hierarchy. However, when comparing the six studied bonobo communities, researchers noted variations among groups.
While the study showed that females won 61% of the conflicts and outranked 70% of the males on average, this doesn’t equate to domination. To be precise, females don’t dominate the males, they simply achieve a higher social status. Fruth said dominance is:
by no means the rule … It’s more accurate to say that in bonobo societies, females enjoy high status rather than unchallenged dominance.
Hidden ovulation
In their study, the scientists also discuss hidden ovulation as a second strategy females use. In bonobos — unlike in other species — females show no obvious physical signs of being in estrus. Female bonobos can mate at any time.
Therefore, females can choose whether or not to mate with a male. This hidden ovulation can impact bonobo social dynamics, since males don’t have clear cues about the optimal time for mating. This might be a strategy for controlling reproduction and male behavior.
The authors state that female reproductive autonomy almost certainly shifts the power dynamic between sexes. Since a female’s fertile window is hidden from the males, they benefit more by staying close to the females than by trying to coerce them aggressively into mating.
What can we learn from female bonobos?
Coalitions are a way for female bonobos to be empowered. The females join forces to suppress male aggression toward them. This is a first-ever demonstration of female bonobos maintaining power by forming alliances with other females.
Still, to better understand these coalition strategies, hidden ovulation, and other ideas, more research is needed. Fruth said:
I’m still puzzled why, of all animals, bonobos were the ones to form female alliances. We might never know, but it gives me a glimmer of hope that females of our closest living relatives, in our evolutionary line, teamed up to take the reins of power alongside males.
Bottom line: Female bonobos wield power and influence by creating alliances with other females. The females don’t dominate the males but enjoy a high status in their communities.
Source: Drivers of female power in bonobos
Via Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Read more: Orphaned bonobos can develop social skills and empathy
Read more: Bonobo chatter shares a unique feature with human speech
The post Female bonobos rule the bonobo kingdom. Girl power! first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/2j4uAJE
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