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Animals that live in groups

Lions, elephants, wolves, meerkats and many dolphins are animals that live in groups. Some form families, packs or herds. Ants, honey bees and many bumblebees form colonies with a very different organisation from mammal societies.

Examples of group living

Elephants: females and young form family groups; adult males have different relationships and often leave the family herd.
Wolves and lions: cooperation can help with obtaining food and raising young, in different ways.
Meerkats: group members can watch for danger and help care for young.
Zebras and impalas: group composition varies with species, sex and season.
Ants and honey bees: colony members have different reproductive and working roles.

Benefits and costs

More eyes can help detect danger. Some species defend one another, find food or care for young together.

Group members may also compete for food and mates. An elephant family, a chimpanzee community and an ant colony each work in their own way.

Long-lasting and seasonal groups

Lowland streaked tenrecs may share shelters with relatives. Indris and ring-tailed lemurs also have social lives. In many temperate bumblebees, colonies are seasonal and new queens overwinter separately.

Living together does not necessarily mean hunting together. Some social animals eat plants, while others forage individually. Behaviour depends on species and circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

Which animals live in groups?

Examples include lions, elephants, wolves, meerkats, zebras, impalas and many primates and cetaceans. Ants and honey bees live in colonies.

Do all social animals hunt together?

No. Some eat plants, while others forage individually. Social living and cooperative hunting are different behaviours.

Do groups stay the same throughout the year?

No. Their composition can change with season, breeding, age and food availability.

Sources: Smithsonian — lion · San Diego Zoo — elephant · San Diego Zoo — meerkat · NOAA Fisheries — killer whale · Bumblebee Conservation Trust — lifecycle · University of Michigan — Hemicentetes semispinosus

A

African grey parrot with a black bill, pale face and grey feathers perched on a branch

African grey parrotPsittacus erithacus

African wild dogLycaon pictus

ant

Blue-and-yellow macaw in flight with spread wings and a black bill

B

bee

BeeApis (honey bees)

Beluga whale facing the camera underwater, showing its rounded forehead and pectoral flippers

Beluga whaleDelphinapterus leucas

Young black-furred bonobo with large eyes resting against its mother in the forest

BonoboPan paniscus

A green budgerigar with a yellow head, blue cere and black throat spots

BudgerigarMelopsittacus undulatus

bumblebee

BumblebeeBombus

C

A yellow domestic canary with folded wings and a narrow tail perched on a branch

CanarySerinus canaria

Capuchin monkey with brown fur and a black cap holding food in its hands

Capuchin monkeyCebinae

chimpanzee

ChimpanzeePan troglodytes

A grey chinchilla with rounded ears, dark eyes and long whiskers

ChinchillaChinchilla spp.

Nasua nasua coati with its long snout near the ground and ringed tail raised

Grey cockatiel with an orange cheek patch and raised crest feeding on a branch

CockatielNymphicus hollandicus

White sulphur-crested cockatoo with a yellow crest and dark bill perched on a sloping branch

CockatooCacatuidae

Silvery common bream showing its deep, laterally flattened body underwater

Common breamAbramis brama

Common chaffinch male with a blue-grey crown, pink-brown breast and white wing markings

Common chaffinchFringilla coelebs

A common clownfish with an orange body, three white bars and a rounded tail beside an anemone

Common clownfishAmphiprion ocellaris

Brown common degu with rounded ears and a tufted tail standing on a branch

Common deguOctodon degus

Silvery common roach with an orange-red iris and reddish lower fins

Common roachRutilus rutilus

Common starling perched on a mossy branch, showing a pointed yellow bill, pink feet and green-violet iridescent feathers

Common starlingSturnus vulgaris

Corydoras catfish with a dark white-spotted body and orange fins on the aquarium floor

Corydoras catfishCorydoras

D

Blue discus with a round body, red eye and fine fin markings

DiscusSymphysodon

dolphin

DolphinDelphinidae and several river-dolphin lineages

E

elephant

ElephantLoxodonta africana; Loxodonta cyclotis; Elephas maximus

Male elephant seal with a large inflated nose raised on a beach near females and pups

Elephant sealMirounga

Eurasian collared dove with pale grey-beige plumage and a black half-collar

Eurasian collared doveStreptopelia decaocto

Dark grey Eurasian coot with a red eye and white forehead standing on a bank

Eurasian cootFulica atra

Eurasian magpie, Pica pica, perched on a branch with white shoulder and belly patches and a long iridescent tail

Eurasian magpiePica pica

Male siskin with yellow-green plumage, a black cap and black wing bars on a branch

Eurasian siskinSpinus spinus

White Eurasian spoonbill with a long spoon-shaped bill feeding in shallow water

Eurasian spoonbillPlatalea leucorodia

Small, slender silvery anchovy with a bluish back on a sandy seabed

European anchovyEngraulis encrasicolus

European bee-eater flying with a yellow throat, blue underparts and spread wings

European bee-eaterMerops apiaster

European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) perched on a wooden post

European goldfinchCarduelis carduelis

Large European hornet with a yellow-red head, big eyes and a brown and yellow body on a plank

European hornetVespa crabro

European perch (Perca fluviatilis) viewed from the side underwater

European perchPerca fluviatilis

F

Male fallow deer with a white-spotted reddish coat and broad antlers on grass

Fallow deerDama dama

G

Slender light-brown gazelle with a white belly and ringed horns among grasses

Goldfish (Carassius auratus) with orange scales

GoldfishCarassius auratus

gorilla

GorillaGorilla spp.

Great tit on a mossy branch showing white cheeks and the black stripe down its yellow breast

Great titParus major

Grey partridge with an orange face, grey breast and chestnut bars along its sides

Grey partridgePerdix perdix

A short-haired guinea pig with a rounded muzzle and small folded ears

Guinea pigCavia porcellus

Male guppy with blue-green markings and a patterned yellow tail among aquatic plants

GuppyPoecilia reticulata

H

Grey harbour porpoise with a short snout and small triangular dorsal fin swimming in greenish water

Harbour porpoisePhocoena phocoena

House martin with a glossy blue-black back and white underparts beside a mud nest

House martinDelichon urbicum

Black-furred howler monkey walking along a branch among leaves

Howler monkeyAlouatta

I

impala

ImpalaAepyceros melampus

An indri in Andasibe-Mantadia, photographed by Christophe Germain

IndriIndri indri

L

lemur

LemurLemuriformes (several families)

lion

LionPanthera leo

Rosy-faced lovebird with green plumage and a pale bill perched on a branch

LovebirdAgapornis

Yellow-and-black lowland streaked tenrec, photographed by Bernard DUPONT

Lowland streaked tenrecHemicentetes semispinosus

M

Barbary macaque with yellowish-brown fur sitting on a rock

mandrill

MandrillMandrillus sphinx

Common marmoset with a dark face and white ear tufts

MarmosetCallithrix

Silvery horse mackerel with large eyes and a lateral line of bony scutes on ice among other fish

Mediterranean horse mackerelTrachurus mediterraneus

Dark-shelled Mediterranean mussels clustered on an underwater rock

Mediterranean musselMytilus galloprovincialis

meerkat

MeerkatSuricata suricatta

Grey, finely spotted mollies swimming among green aquatic plants

MollyPoecilia sphenops

Brown Mongolian gerbil with pale underparts sitting upright at a burrow entrance

Mongolian gerbilMeriones unguiculatus

Male muskox with long shaggy hair and heavy horns in Dovrefjell, Norway

MuskoxOvibos moschatus

N

Neon tetra with a bright blue stripe and red lower rear half

Neon tetraParacheirodon innesi

O

orca

OrcaOrcinus orca

P

Old illustration of a Pontic shad, an elongated fish with large scales and a forked tail

Pontic shadAlosa immaculata

Black-tailed prairie dog at a burrow entrance, holding food with its front paws

Prairie dogCynomys

R

A brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, with whiskers and a scaly tail curved on the ground

Pinkish-silver red mullet with red blotches and two chin barbels on a sandy seabed

Red mulletMullus barbatus

S

Sea otter with thick brown fur and a pale head floating on its back in the water

Sea otterEnhydra lutris

Small grey sugar glider with a black head stripe and large eyes on a branch at night

Sugar gliderPetaurus breviceps

W

Grey warthog with curved tusks and facial warts on dry ground

WarthogPhacochoerus

Dark-furred white-handed gibbon with a pale ring around its face at Philadelphia Zoo

White-handed gibbonHylobates lar

wolf

WolfCanis lupus

Y

Domestic yak (Bos grunniens) in a mountain landscape

YakBos grunniens

Z

zebra

ZebraEquus quagga, Equus zebra and Equus grevyi

Several small, slender zebrafish with blue and silver stripes along the body

ZebrafishDanio rerio