In a meerkat group, one dominant female monopolises reproduction, and the other group members help raise her pups. When a dominant female meerkat dies, the oldest subordinate female, normally one of her daughters, takes her place. Meerkats do not have to be related to belong to the same group. Meerkat helpers babysit pups for a day at a time and bring them food until the pups are three months old. They take turns, because a babysitter cannot eat while on duty and goes a whole day without food.

Florida scrub-jays are one of the few animal groups where scientists have found a clear benefit to the breeding parents from having helpers. Young jays typically stay in the territory where they were born for at least a year, and many spend their first several years as helpers in their family group. Helper scrub-jays defend the territory and bring food to the young, but they do not sit on the eggs. The Archbold Biological Station study keeps monthly counts of groups, group makeup, parentage and family trees for over 6000 individuals, as of November 2026.

Across cooperatively breeding birds, pairs with helpers fledge about one and a half times more young than pairs without helpers. Helpers in these birds are typically related to the breeding pair. Wolves show a similar pattern. In Yellowstone, wolf packs are most commonly a breeding pair and their offspring from several years. Older wolf siblings also take part in pup care and feeding, and kin selection is probably the best explanation. The positive influence of helpers was strongest for small packs. Unrelated wolves may also join a pack, so a pack is not always all relatives.

Lion prides raise young together. Related females tend to have cubs at about the same time and nurse each other's cubs, and cub deaths are lowest when they do. Cubs born in a lion pride are twice as likely to survive as cubs born to a lioness on her own. Lion cubs are often raised in crèches, where the whole pride helps raise several litters.

Scientists studying resident killer whales found that post-menopausal grandmothers improve the chances of survival for their grand-calves. Orcas teach younger pod members through apprenticeship, and skills in hunting and parenting are among the skills taught. An orca pod's dialect has been shown to stay the same in a pod for up to six generations.

Vampire bats share blood meals with relatives and non-relatives alike. A study recorded food sharing from 2010 to 2014 and also made individual bats fast for 24 hours to see who would feed them.

Jane Goodall started the Gombe chimpanzee study in 1960, and it is described as the longest-running study of wild chimpanzees as of November 2026. At Gombe, Tanzanian field assistants record extremely detailed observations on paper, and the same methods continue today. If a young chimpanzee's mother dies, older siblings will often take over the care of a younger sibling. Adoptions by adult chimpanzees can last for years and involve extensive care for the orphans. In Taï forest, researchers reported 18 cases of orphaned chimpanzees being adopted by group members. Half were adopted by males, and only one of those proved to be the father.

In an African wild dog pack, once pups leave the den they become the responsibility of the whole pack, and pups nurse from other females as well as their mother. Females usually leave their birth pack at 2 1/2 years or older, while about half of young males stay with their father's pack.

Words to know

• monopolises: keeps for itself
• subordinate: lower-ranking
• apprenticeship: learning from experts
• fledge: learn to fly
• dialect: group sound pattern