Most animal societies are led by males, but in some, females rule.
These matriarchal groups are typically led by the oldest and wisest individuals. Female leadership has evolved primarily in mammals, which tend to live longer and have fewer offspring than other species. Animals with female leaders are those in which females have a disproportionate influence on the collective behavior of group members, according to a 2020 study in the journal The Leadership Quarterly.
Female leadership takes many forms. Females of some species, such as bonobos and spotted hyenas, rule by forging alliances and coordinating attacks on males, while others, such as African savanna elephants and killer whales, dominate through wisdom.
So, without further ado, here are six examples of animals with female owners.
African savannah elephants
The African savanna elephant (African Loxodonta) is the largest elephant species and the largest land animal on Earth. According to World nature Fundthis elephants roam sub-Saharan Africa in family groups consisting of about 10 females and their young. Often these family groups join together to form “clans” of several hundred elephants led by a single female matriarch. This leadership role is usually assigned to the oldest and most experienced female in the group.
The matriarch makes decisions about where the herd goes, how to respond to threats and crises, and when and where to sleep. She also leads the elephants to food and water, no small task, since African savannah elephants need about 140 kilograms of vegetation and up to 190 liters of water per day to maintain their gigantic size.
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But the matriarch’s wisdom and authority don’t necessarily make her an autocrat, the nonprofit said. Elephant Voices. Other members of the group can make suggestions and influence where the elephants move, for example. There can also be conflict between females, and this sometimes bubbles over when the matriarch dies, leaving a power vacuum.
Male African savanna elephants live with female-led herds only during the mating season.
Spotted hyenas
The spotted hyena (Crispy crispy) is a highly social and intelligent species. Like African savannah elephants, spotted hyenas hang out in clans led by females that can exist anywhere between six and ninety hyenas. Female spotted hyenas are not much larger than their male counterparts, but they are much more aggressive and can therefore exert more power. Females also have a pseudopenis — an elongated clitoris so large it resembles a penis — and lack a vaginal opening, which means they look almost identical to malesDue to their anatomy, female spotted hyenas have complete control over who they mate with. When they choose to mate, females retract their pseudopenis to form an opening into which males can insert their penis.
Female spotted hyenas display their dominance through aggressive behavior and by flocking. research has shown. Females receive much more social support in hyena clans than males, meaning that females are more likely to command and “win” interactions between the two sexes. Differences in social support arise because male spotted hyenas leave their natal clan when they reach pubertyThe social bonds they create when joining a new clan are weaker than those of females raised together.
Orcas
Orcas (Orca of Orcinus), also known as killer whales, are one of the largest predators in the ocean. They live in matriarchal societies, with separate groups consisting of a female, her offspring, and her offspring’s offspring. Groups can range from a few to more than 20 male and female killer whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDifferent pods of orcas may come together in large groups to socialize, hunt, or mate, but they always ultimately return to their natal groups.
Orcas depend on other pod members to survive. For example, orcas were observed catching food to feed a pod member who was missing two flippers, the Daily Mail reportedBut it’s the females who do the heavy lifting: orca mothers often have care for their sons well into adulthood by chasing them and leading them around, even if this affects the mother’s chances of reproduction. Older females are also responsible for guiding the pod to food and for teach their young people new skills that help them survive.
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Orcas are one of the few species who are going through menopause, leaving older women with more time to care for their grandchildren. Research has shown that the care of a grandmother significantly increases the survival of her grandchildren, while the death of a grandmother results in higher mortality among these young. The evolution of menopause in killer whale societies also ensures that there is no competition for mates between older and younger related females.
Bonobos
Bonobos (Pan paniscus), along with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), are our closest living relatives. Bonobos live in large social groups consisting of males and females, but unlike chimpanzee groups, bonobo communities are led by females. Females resolve conflicts through sexual contact. To comfort the victim of a fight, a female will embrace the victim and swing her hips from side to side to make genital contact. Sexual contact is thought to regulate stress in bonobos and relieve tensions between group members, allowing them to live together peacefully.
Female bonobos disperse when they reach sexual maturity and migrate to new groups, while males remain in their natal groups. In their new groups, females remain Use sex to quickly form strong social bonds with unrelated — and often higher-status — women. They cherish these bonds throughout their lives and use them to orchestrate attacks against males. By asserting their dominance in this way, secure their access to high-quality foodwhich increases their reproductive success and deters unwanted sexual behavior from males.
Honeybees
Honeybees (Apes) are famously led by a single adult queen. These bees live in huge colonies of tens of thousands of female workers that build the nest, forage for food, and care for the brood. Workers are sexually underdeveloped and do not lay eggs. Only the queen can reproduce, and she does so with the help of several hundred male “drones” that join the colony only in late spring and summer. Drones have no stinger, wax glands, or pollen baskets; their main purpose is to fertilize the queen’s eggs, at which point they drop dead, according to the University of Delaware.
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A honey bee queen ensures the survival of the colony by laying up to 250,000 eggs per year and possibly more than 1 million in her lifetime, according to the University of Delaware. (Queens can live up to five years.) She’s also responsible for maintaining the colony by producing a pheromone that unifies the hive and gives it an individual “identity,” which keeps her workers loyal. To carry out her duties and in return for her hard work, the queen requires constant attention and a steady supply of royal jelly — a nutrient-rich, milky substance produced by female workers. The number of eggs the queen lays depends on the amount of food she’s given and the wax cells her workers build for her eggs.
Lemurs
Multiple lemur species have female leaders. In ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur cat), who live in mixed social groups up to 25 peopleFemales can dominate because they need food first to successfully reproduce. Females behave aggressively towards both males and females when competing for food, but men are more submissivemeaning that females predominate.
Female lemurs consistently winning conflicts with males, but the reasons for this are still unclear. Lemurs are monomorphic, meaning that males and females grow to about the same size and generally look the same, but males still seem to feel threatened by females. High-ranking males, especially would rather skip a meal than fighting hungry females. By avoiding antagonistic interactions with females, these males can increase their chances of reproduction.