It seems like girl power is something that transcends across species. While human females tend to stick together to protect themselves against unwanted male advancements, it would appear that apes are doing the same thing. As it turns out, female apes band together to scare off aggressive males in the wild.
Talk About Girl Power: Female Apes Band Together To Scare Off Aggressive Males
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The NY Post shares that female bonobos are exhibiting an interesting behavior. It appears that the ladies are sticking together in order to fend off aggressive males in the wild. Seeing as bonobos are one of humans' closest relatives, it is not at all surprising that they would have some similarities to us. However, the female grouping had perplexed scientists for some time.
After all, why would these bonobos live in mostly female-dominated groups when the males were noticeably bigger and stronger? Wouldn't they want the protection? As it turns out, they want protection from the males themselves. Scientists studied wild bonobos for three decades to discover the answer to this question. After all of that research they determined that "female bonobos band together to assert their power."
It seems that despite their larger size and stature, the male bonobos have something to fear. Scientists shared that they have witnessed groups of females chasing the males up a tree or more easily securing food for themselves. Additionally, if a male bonobo crosses one female, he crosses her whole sisterhood — not a wise idea.
Due to their grouping, the female bonobos now have equal standing — if not higher standing — than the males. It is one of the rare occurrences where the female of the species comes out on top. These female apes band together to scare off aggressive males and then reap all of the additional benefits as well. Such as security, additional food and resources, and a sisterhood. This is a prime example of the old saying there is safety in numbers.
