Jun 21, 2017
Chimpanzee social structure is very complex. Within a group of individuals, there are several smaller groups called parties. Party composition changes throughout the day and can fluctuate greatly. Usually these parties are fairly small (about 5 chimps), but you can sometimes observe larger ones. Pictured here is Liona during her transition between parties. Liona is currently a very valuable chimp to the group because she is at peak fertility right now, as evidenced by her large genital swelling. This serves as a signal to male chimps so they know which females to breed.