Having More Friends Means More Offspring for Male Chimps

A Moment of Science · Feb 13, 2026 · 2m

We don’t usually think of friends in terms of what advantages they give us, although, if asked, most people would probably say that their friends add a lot to their lives.

Scientists view friendship among animals in slightly starker terms: if strong social bonds exist between animals, it probably means such ties directly benefit the animals in some way. A team of researchers set out to find out whether the benefit of friendship between male chimpanzees may be to further a goal that many animals share—more offspring.

To do that, they examined genetic and behavioral data of a group of…