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Do animals have friends just like us? In fact, yes, they do! In animal communities, the ability to befriend your neighbors is even of utmost importance to survival and reproduction.

Being sociable has its advantages. Finding food and facing the enemy is much easier with the strength found in numbers. In hard times, you can count on family and friends. But social connections also carry a negative side. Pests and viruses can take this opportunity to spread! By examining social networks in animal societies, we can better understand how diseases and parasites spread.

In social animals, family is paramount. The little ones cannot survive without the attentive care of their parent. This family unit forms the basic social group. Several families, linked together, form a larger group. In the animal world, nothing is more important than the bonds of blood.

Did you know that animals are innovative individuals? Capable of inventing new ways of doing things? And to spread their inventions, these leaders can count on copycats. In fact, imitating parents and friends is the basis of learning in many animal species. Copying saves time and can even save lives. Learning from others is beneficial for escaping predators, finding food and creating useful alliances. Sometimes, a new behavior appears in a particular region or group. We are talking about culture, where animal communities have a culture of their own that can be as human human ones. How does culture emerge? How do ideas spread? These are the questions that scientists are finally beginning to answer. Animal societies are emerging as a reflection of human ones.

Like human beings, each animal has its own personality. Violent, calm, shy, daring, willing, revengeful, wise and the list goes on. All animals are not cut from the same cloth. And everyone in their own way leaves a mark the group with which they live. In nature, personality has a great influence on the size and nature of social networks. Is it useful or harmful to be shy, to be daring? The answer is ... it all depends!