Researchers observing wild bonobos over four years in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that whenever females formed coalitions, they would invariably attack males. This was typically in response to a male displaying aggressive behavior towards another female. In their study, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, the researchers conclude that “coalitions in female bonobos might have evolved as a counterstrategy against male harassment.” Alliances feature prominently in the social lives of primates. Often forming among female relatives, these partnerships can strengthen the females’ ability cope with competition from non-relatives. Bonobos are unusual in that females typically form alliances with unrelated females. The researchers believe that forming coalitions to combat aggressive males has enabled female bonobos to acquire the more dominant position in the social hierarchy. http://thescienceexplorer.com/nature/bonobos-form-all-female-coalitions-target-violent-males
