dude DUDE check this out https://www.npr.org/2023/06/28/1184894580/ancient-women-were-hunters-and-grandmas-were-the-most-skilled-ones-study-suggest
a straight up comparison between humans and orcas this is awesome
｜霜の狼｜人面獣心」
@Leucrotta oh, it's one of those audio+transcripts...is the orca thing not in the transcript?
@Leucrotta or it's quite possible I'm just blind.
@frost not included, but THE thing about orcas is matriarchy - orcas are one of the few other species out there to experience menopause, but post-menopausal cows still basically direct where their pods go (and if you're an orca, by definition you're hunting). So this is REALLY exciting to me, because that means that pattern shows up elsewhere in social animals! Now I really really want to find this study and read it.
@Leucrotta I think wolves are semi-matriarchal too right? They don't have menopause, but aside from that, there's another one.
(though probably only semi at most because there isn't really an "alpha female" either of course)
@Leucrotta oooh cool!