Research suggests that female-female bonding is essential for humans

As a woman, have you been to a social gathering and looked at the crowd in front of you and tried to recognise someone you know? If you have, and you do, you might stay and engage in conversation with them. Alternatively, there might be someone present who you wish to avoid, so you might leave and go elsewhere.

It might surprise you, but recent research shows that something similar occurs in the behaviour of our closest evolutionary cousins, female mountain gorillas.

Many animal societies exhibit this behaviour called ‘dispersal’ in which individuals leave one group to seek and stay with another

Many animal societies exhibit a behaviour called ‘dispersal’ in which individuals leave one group of their kind to seek and stay with another. Up until now it was little understood what information is used by individuals to make their decisions to move around, however, anthropologists at the University of Zürich (UZH) have made progress in understanding this behaviour.

By studying a data base of observations over a period of 20 year on 56 groups of mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda the researchers at UZH were able to compile the movements of female gorillas between groups. The findings were published by researchers Victoire Martignac et al. in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. August 2025 under the title “Dispersed female networks: female gorillas’ inter-group relationships influence dispersal decisions.”

When females disperse, they have to find a new group to take them in

They discovered that within their lifespans 50% of both male and female mountain gorillas disperse from their groups, with the females dispersing multiple times. This intermixing may have evolutionary advantages because it influences knowledge transmission, culture and gene variation. It could also play a rôle in avoiding in-breeding and shaping social relationships.

When male gorillas disperse, they become solitary and try to establish a new group of their own.  When females disperse, they have to find a new group to take them in and one where they wish to remain. In this process of choice, when female gorillas find a new group, they will seek females they have known previously, and this will influence their decision. Past social experiences seem to influence their choice of group to join.

Past social experiences seem to influence the choice of group to join

Even when two female gorillas have not been in personal contact for many years, they will somehow recognise each other and revive their previous bond. This may not be a true friendship, but in this context, even after years apart it seems this female-female connection matters and have great significance and influence.

For the group deciding whether to accept the lone female, if she is known previously by another female within the group, their familiarity is a positive sign to accept her for the group as a whole and for the dominant male which leads it. This might be a case of risk avoidance by both the group and the lone female.

A female mountain gorilla

It was found that females avoided groups containing males with whom they grew up with, possibly to avoid mating with a relative. This suggests that females prioritize the maintenance of female relationships in their dispersal decisions, while reducing inbreeding risks.

As humans we live in a flexible society in which individuals move between social groups throughout their lives out of necessity or choice

Correlating the behaviour of female gorillas with that of female humans is perhaps too much of an extrapolation. However, the behaviour of gorillas mirrors key aspects of human societies. In this case the existence of ties between different social groups.

These studies could reframe how we understand our own social relationships. Moving around is crucial for humans. We live in a flexible society in which individuals move between social groups throughout their lives out of necessity or choice. This might open up reasons behind social choices and by studying the roots of gorilla behaviour could illuminate the evolutionary driving forces behind our own.

So, the next time you are out partying, and you do not know whether to stay or go, reflect that your choice might be more subconsciously driven than you think. Your reasoning  as a woman might just be that you recognise someone you have met before. A familiar female might reduce the fear of socializing, and you might just stay to enjoy the rest of the evening. Your choice could be consequential and affect the rest of your life.