Sapolsky a professor and researcher talks about the time he spent with savanna baboons. During his studies he found out many discoveries about baboons. He not only found out how they live, but he found out information about their stress levels. During his stay he was intruded to the baboons and their ranks in the troop. Sapolsky learned the multiple social dominances like fighting to be top ranked and mating strategies the troop participated in. He also learned the nature and instinct created a complex social hierarchy for the baboons.
Throughout the book Sapolsky gives multiples ways that baboons show social dominance. Generally, the males show the social dominance during Sapolsky’s time in the troop. There are a few females that do show …show more content…
It is stated the when males trust each other, they do a gesture as they walk past each other. This is by the baboons will yank on the other penises. Only males do that normally but in this troop a couple females will do it to the males. Another example when baboons trust each other is when they form an alliance. In the beginning to take down Saul as alpha male Joshua and Menasseh formed a coalition (pg. 103). However when this didn’t work a group of six high ranked baboons formed together and ultimately took down Saul. Sapolsky stated the baboons did a “logical, but rare thing” in forming the alliance (pg. 103). Not too often do baboons team up with others because they have their rank and want to maintain their rank or get a higher rank.
The women in the troop also had rank, however there rank was different. The females did not fight for their rank, but instead they inherited it. They inherited their rank from their mother and so on. For example Leah has a very high rank so therefore her daughters have high rank as well. “Leah had been sitting on top of that pile for at least a quarter of a century” (pg.17). So unfortunately for girls if you are born into a low ranked family, you will forever be low ranked and you cant move up like the