Researchers collected more than 55,000 observations
of social interactions
of spotted
hyenas over a 20 year period in Kenya, making this one
of the largest to date
of social network
dynamics in any non-human species.
They found that cohesive clustering
of the kind where an individual bonds with friends
of friends, something scientists call «triadic closure,» was the most consistent factor influencing the long - term
dynamics of the social structure
of spotted
hyenas.