Ranking high in the social hierarchy is a good predictor of robust health — in both monkeys and humans.
baboons
The Science of Animal Friendships: How Beasts Can Be BFFs
This week’s TIME cover story — available to subscribers here — reveals that true friendship, marked by generosity, sacrifice and commitment, once thought to be the province of humans, exists among the lower species too.
Move Over, Alpha Males. Why Being a Beta May Be Better (at Least for Baboons)
It’s stressful at the top, at least for male baboons, according to a new study that finds that alpha males — those at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy — are significantly more stressed out than a group’s No. 2, or beta male.