(CN) — Bonobos are humans’ closest living relatives, and researchers expected them to follow the roles of most social mammals where males dominate females, decide when to mate and who gets to eat ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Kim Elsesser covers issues that impact women in the workplace. Two new studies show how female alliances can boost power. Bonobos ...

The study measured “rank” within the bonobo communities by tallying how many times females won conflicts with males. Females usually came out on top. Photograph by Christian Ziegler By banding ...

When a male bonobo oversteps his bounds — say, by hopping into a tree and shaking the branches while others are trying to feed — females in the troop tend to act fast. They kick him, they chase him, ...