© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
By and large in the animal kingdom, it is the males that rule the roost, displaying their aggro and strength by such despicable means as keeping harems, bullying the girls, butchering the young of other males who they have defeated in territorial takeovers, and so forth. If say a pretty young baboon is caught making out with a youthful stranger, she is in for a bad beating.
Even so, there are a host of species, from the tiniest to the largest, where it is the ladies who unquestionably call the shots. Colonies of ants, bees and termites are ruled by queens who brook no nonsense and are looked after by their daughters and sisters, who are rendered disinterested in the opposite sex. As for the males, the drones, they just hang around doing nothing until the queen decides to start a new hive and leaves, with the drones in hot pursuit. But if times become tough in a hive and food is short or the winter exceptionally cold, it is the drones that are thrown out by the hive girls.
Even solitary ladies can be dangerous: lady spiders and praying mantis have ferocious love lives, at the cost of their husbands, who may end up enjoying headless honeymoons or become protein fodder for their progeny.
It would be timely to remember that small though these creatures may be, it is they who are in actual control of the way the Earth functions, so really, it is lady power that rules us all!
Living a very similar lifestyle are the toothy naked mole rats – not the prettiest of creatures – that live in underground colonies in Africa. The head honcho is a female and along with her partner will be the only ones reproducing, other ladies are ‘reproductively suppressed’ in that they are short on certain reproductive hormones that their queen possesses. Again, these workers are responsible for taking care of the babies produced by the queen. Queens keep their consorts for many years and may live up to 18 years and will viciously fight with other ladies that have royal ambitions. Violent succession battles will take place when she dies.
Meerkats, those engaging African mongooses with a penchant for standing up straight and tall, live in groups of around 30 animals, and are also ruled by queens. Colonies are led by a queen and she and her consort are the only ones allowed to breed – and she is one ferocious lady. Competition from other ambitious ladies is ruthlessly put down. She is so possessive of her genetic legacy that she will even kill her grand daughters if she happens to be expecting at the time because they will share just 25 per cent of her genetic makeup as against 50 per cent from her own daughters-to-be, which are therefore her rightful immediate heirs. Not a nice nani to have! Gentlemen meerkats keep quiet and toe the line.
Spotted hyenas, not everyone’s favourite animal, also live in families ruled by females. The ladies, in fact, are larger than the males, who have very little status in the family. Again, the leading lady is ruthlessly ambitious, putting down any sign of revolt – among other ladies in the family – and her daughters too get an automatic pride of place in the hierarchy, scoring higher than all the other ladies. The highest-ranking male alas, scores lower than the lowest-ranking female!
Lions have been called the ‘kings of the jungle’ whereas in reality, prides are ruled by the lionesses, who decide where and when to hunt and how to go about it. His Majesty merely serves as a glorified bouncer, ensuring the safety of the pride from hostile takeovers by other males, and spends most of his time sleeping and waiting for dinner. Occasionally, he may assist the ladies in bringing down a stubborn victim. But then, he really can’t go around frequently messing up that magnificent hairdo of his that so enthralls the girls, can he?
African elephant herds too are led by a wise old matriarch, usually the oldest, most experienced member of the family – who knows all the family secrets as well as places to find fodder and water when times get tough. The herd, comprising her sisters, daughters and the babies may include a few young bulls, but these are turned out once they become thuggish teenagers.
Pods of orcas, aka killer whales are led by grandmothers who may be 90 years old and who pass down their vast knowledge and experience to their daughters and grand-daughters. They are not averse to expressing their annoyance (by beating their tails against the water, and making noises with their teeth) if their students are inattentive.
Scientists have argued as to why these alpha ladies lead and have proposed many hypotheses. But the bottom line remains the same: it has survival value for the species.
Could that be true for us too?
