Sunday!
Watch Molly take on Putsie in the epic Battle of the Baboons!
We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge!
Hey fellow primates, it’s Natalia for DNews!
You’ve probably heard of alpha males...fighting tooth and nail for dominance in their group,
but did you know that alpha females also exist?
At the Toronto Zoo a group of female olive baboons have been embroiled in their own ‘Game
of Baboons’.
It began over a year ago with the death of Boss Lady, the alpha female.
Her 16-year old daughter Betty took over the position of alpha female.
But also soon died of natural causes.
The next in line to be alpha female was Betty’s daughter, Molly, much to the chagrin of an
older female named Putsie who, at 18, is three times Molly’s age.
And so the fighting for power began!
The struggle for the throne turned violent and has resulted in six of the twelve female
baboons suffering from minor to severe lacerations; some so serious they required surgery.
Zookeepers closed the exhibit temporarily because they were afraid the public, unaware
of baboon politics and behavior, would be concerned for the animals’ safety.
So how does this work?
Olive baboons live in matrilineal matrilocal groups which means females stay in the group
as they mature, while males leave to join a new group.
Unlike males who fight for dominance, females inherit their social status from their mothers,
much like a monarchy.
Therefore if you are the oldest daughter born to an alpha female olive baboon and she dies,
then -voila- you become alpha female!
Currently both females share the throne, as it appears they have come to a truce.
Molly, researchers surmise, is most likely waiting for ol’ Putsie’s imminent demise
so she can assume ALL the power.
It’s like Mean Girls meets Game of Thrones meets Big Baboon House.
It would be interesting to see how this battle has affected the stress levels of these badass
baboon broads.
In one study, researchers found that the lowest ranked males showed relatively high amounts
of stress.
Although another study discovered that alpha males also suffer from high levels of stress
when the there was instability in the group.
In the case of the male baboons, they do not inherit their social status and therefore
have to continually fight to remain on top or strive to get to the top from the bottom,
so higher stress levels make sense.
So, perhaps it’s not always good to be the king?
The same long-term study that discovered that low ranking males suffered from high levels
of stress also yielded other fascinating finds about the plasticity of baboon behavior.
The study was conducted by Stanford primatologist and neurologist Robert Saplosky, which he
chronicled in his book “A Primate’s Memoir”.
Sapolsky followed a troop of 62 olive baboons over several seasons in Kenya affectionately
called the Forest Troop.
The group endured great losses after its dominant males ate tainted meat.
And so, one by one, the belligerent baboon bullies died out leaving a group of mild-mannered
baboons The result was surprising - instead of fighting to rebuild the baboon hierarchy,
the remainder of the troop were even-tempered.
And the troop has stayed that way for more than two decades, with newcomer males quickly
taught the unusually genial ways of the troop.
For baboons- a species with deeply rooted hierarchical social structure, this is quite
surprising.
This study supports the idea that social behavior is not transmitted biologically, but learned
and shared through example and teaching, i.e. behavior is strongly influenced by culture.
Similarly, Molly and Putsie’s uncommon truce is also a unique example of how flexible baboon
behavior can be.
In the case of Toronto’s battling alpha females, it’s unclear how this will all
finally work itself out.
Perhaps Putsie and Molly will continue to reign in peace, or maybe another coup will
erupt.
And if Putsie is the female instigating the violence, maybe this brutal behavior will
die out when she finally expires.
Regardless, the Toronto zoo has no plans to intervene, they want them to work it out on
their own.