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Science
Beki Hooper, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter

Animal friendships are surprisingly like our own

slowmotiongli/Shutterstock

When you think of friendship, what comes to mind? Is it a phone conversation that lasts late into the night? Watching a movie and sharing a pizza? Enjoying some laughs over a beer? Friendship is a central part of the human experience. Our stories, our songs and our conversations are fabrics woven with threads of friendship.

In scientific terms, two people are considered friends if they consistently prefer each other over other individuals. Humans aren’t the only ones who form friendships, though.

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