Agile Rabbit: The Surprising Science of Animal Friendships
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Category
Price*
£11
Time
6pm

Did you know that animals have friends? Lauren Brent has spent years travelling the world studying friendship in monkeys and other primates.
Lauren is Professor in the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter. In this special talk Lauren will be revealing the many similarities between human societies and those of other animals. Animals make friends, have enemies, form alliances, and engage in violence. They are loyal to their families and have hierarchies
Her fascinating work reveals a deeper understanding of how animals live in social groups, but it’s also part of our story.
Studying animals also tells us about the origins of friendship and what evolutionary function they serve – the consequences for health, ageing and longevity – revealing the power of those processes in ourselves.
Speaker: Lauren Brent
Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour
University of Exeter
Lauren studies the ecological and evolutionary basis of social relationship and social networks, and investigates social gradients of health, ageing, and longevity. Prof Brent is a member of the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour.