Friends for Life

A new study on baboon mothers' offspring mortality found that the infants of those with "strong relationships with other females are more likely to survive to adulthood than baboons reared by less social mothers."

The study also found that:

• the "strongest social bonds" were between mothers and adult daughters (followed by sisters)
  
• "social" doesn't mean "wildly social," but a "close social bond"
  
• the social female baboons formed close, long-lasting relationships with particular female partners
  
• the benefit may have to do with regulating the stress hormone cortisol
  

(quoted text from UCLA Newsroom press release)