Do any other animals have friends?

Connie Tierney

Lots of species are social and hang out in groups, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re pals. Relationships between animals are often transactional; groups form because there’s safety in numbers, or because it’s more efficient to hunt or collect food together. Scientists think it takes a lot of brainpower to form and maintain ‘human-like’ friendships based on affection. Species they think are capable of this type of relationship include primates, elephants, camelids (like camels and alpacas), cetaceans (like whales and dolphins), bats, bears, parrots and members of the horse family.