5 hours agoShareSaveVictoria GillScience correspondent, BBC NewsShareSaveDian Fossey Gorilla FundMs Martignac explained that the gorillas would invest in these relationships because they deliver key social benefits. “New arrivals usually start at the bottom of the social hierarchy,” she said. “Resident females can be pretty aggressive towards them, because they’re potentially a competitor.”Moving around is something that is also crucial in shaping human society. And the researchers say that studying its roots in other great apes can shed light on the evolutionary driving forces behind it. “Movement is a huge part of the way we live,” said Ms Martignac. “But those decisions do not fossilise. “So we look at them in our closest evolutionary cousins.”This new insight into gorillas’ social lives, she added, “reframes how we think of female-female social relationships”. “They’re much more important to these animals than we used to think.”
