In this episode Professor Ramble and the Velvet Fist discuss motherhood and their relationshiops withthier mothers with special guests Gherkin and Karen.

"There was an NPR show about Keiko, (the animal actor who played the whale in Free Willy - who was rescued from a sea park in Mexico City and later released into the wild), from that show I learned that male Orcas are mamma's boys who spend the majority of their lives in close proximity to their mothers. Fascinating!

Orangutans are the opposite with daughters being the ones who stay with their mommas in the high green jungle sea...

With standard chimps, (I'm not sure for Bonobos) your status in the tribe, whether it's even possible for you to become the leader for example, entirely depends on who your mother is. Not your strength, smarts, or banana acquisition skills. (But I guess Fatherhood technically can't even exist in chimps)

Hyenas, now considered to be almost as smart as chimps, are entirely matriarchal and only high status daughters can be queens.

I just think it's fascinating how the job of Motherhood is expressed and has such an effect on the way the world operates."