A new study finds that baboons walk together in a line out of friendship, not survival

A new study finds that baboons walk together in a line out of friendship, not survival

A new study finds that baboons walk together in a line out of friendship, not survival A new study from researchers at Swansea University, Wales, revealed a surprising truth about the social behavior of baboons.  In the Cape Peninsula of South Africa, the research team studied 78 distinct travel movements of a group of wild chacma baboons ( Papio ursinus ). In their 36-day trial, clear patterns emerged in the ways the baboons arranged themselves while walking.  When it came to explaining the baboon’s self-ordered movements, the team tested several theories that were consistent with other species.  First, they hypothesized that the baboons were walking in a formation that protected the youngest and most vulnerable among them, the same way that elephants often do.  Secondly, they studied whether they were arranging themselves strategically to better compete for resources.  Lastly, the researchers questioned if they were ordering themselves based on the influence of a group leader. But the prevail…