How Hyenas 'inherit' Their Social Status
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 09:14
in Psychology & Sociology
Scientists have now answered the question how social status is inherited in one of the most social of all mammals, the spotted hyena. The scientists used observations during the last 20 years of rare cases of adoption among hyenas in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania in combination with the latest molecular techniques to identify genetic mothers to demonstrate that hyena mothers pass on their social status by supporting their young during social interactions with other group members.