The female animals who rule
Father, daughter from Cavan team up Nature of Things episode on matriarchal societies in the animal kingdom
A documentary directed by a father-daughter team from Cavan is airing on the Nature of Things on Sunday.
Mommy Wildest is a film about female animals that rule their societies.
It’s co-directed by Mark and Caitlin Starowicz. The family has owned a farm in Cavan since 1982 and that’s where they wrote and planned the picture.
The duo spent two months on the Kenyan savannahs filming groups of lions, elephants and baboons from dawn until dusk.
The film follows leading scientists in their field who explore why these societies evolved into matriarchies and what humans can learn from them.
With an interest in women’s issues and stories with strong female leads, Caitlin was fascinated to learn about matriarchal societies in the animal kingdom.
She also thought it was extraordinary that three such societies lived within such close proximity in Africa.
“I found it remarkable since there are so few matriarchies in the world,” said Caitlin, 34.
The documentary reveals how lionesses form “day-care centres,” how elephants are led by the eldest female and how baboons form an allfemale royal family.
Mark, the former head of CBC’s Documentary Unit, said he was surprised at how willing the scientists were to make human comparisons.
Elephants are family based, full of compassion and friendships are extraordinarily important to them.
Female baboons of the same age tend to hang around together and live longer the more friends they have.
And lions live in a democratic society.
Mark said he was taken aback when he learned that lionesses do the majority of the hunting and pass down their territories to their daughters.
“There are records of the territory being passed down 15 generations to the daughters,” he said. “We’re talking almost a century here.”
Caitlin was struck to learn that elephant’s matriarchy is structured so that the oldest and wisest female is the leader of the heard.
Part of the film follows a grandmother elephant in her 60s that adopts another family after its leaders are killed.
“I thought that was just so lovely that they have this compassion and a drive to help other females,” she said.
In all three societies, Mark said he noticed a common thread.
“Friendship, collaboration and empathy are evolutionary keys for survival,” he said.
The father of two hopes the film combats the assumption that males are naturally leaders in the animal society. He’d also like to see it bring conservation to the forefront, at home and abroad.
“It’s not enough to be sentimental about animals – we have to preserve the ecology of each of these species,” he said.
Caitlin hopes viewers take note that science is constantly changing, and of the strides scientists have made in discovering the emotional complexity of grandmothers, the benefits of friendship and that empathy is a naturally occurring factor.
“And that strong women are in the animal kingdom, too, and I hope that everyone watching feels inspired and empowered by it,” she said.
Mommy Wildest airs on Sunday at 8 p.m. It’s also available online at cbc. ca/natureofthings starting Friday.