How many friends you have and what groups you hang with can have profound consequences for your health and survival — whether you’re a human or a nonhuman primate. Geladas are no exception. Female geladas form differentiated social relationships, which means that they have preferred social partners (usually their close relatives; Tinsley Johnson et al., 2014). We are studying the socioecological causes and fitness consequences of these social relationships as well as why females live in units that range in size from 2 to 12 adults. The goal if this research is to paint a detailed picture of how sociality evolved in humans and other animals.