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In practice all animals are social to some extent - sexually reproducing animals must come together to mate, and in animals showing any degree of parental care there is a minimal social unit of one or more parents and their offspring. The term "social animal" is usually only applied when there is a level of social organization that goes beyond this, with permanent groups of adults living together, and relationships between individuals that endure from one encounter to another.

Animal social behaviour and organization is studied in comparative psychology, ethology, sociobiology and behavioral ecology. Typical issues in social behaviour are:

• what is the typical size of the group, and what factors limit group size and/or lead to groups merging or splitting?
• to what extent does the species show territoriality , and if territories are maintained, what is their purpose, and are they held by an individual or a group?
• are there permanent social dominance relationships within the group, and if so, is there any pattern within them, such as the linear dominance hierarchy or "pecking order" that T. Schjelderup-Ebbe claimed to observe in chickens (in practice such linear hierarchies are rare in nature, though they commonly form in captive or domestic groups, or as a result of human interference such as the provision of artificial food supplies).

A few species, notably insects of the orders Hymenoptera ( ants, bees and wasps) and Isoptera (termites) show an extreme form of sociality involving highly organized societies with individuals specialised for distinct roles. This form of social behaviour is nowadays referred to as eusociality. It has been claimed that a few vertebrate species, most notably the Naked Mole Rat are eusocial.

Some animals whose social behaviour is of particular interest:

• Humans (Homo sapiens)
• GorillaGorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei The Gorilla the largest of the primates, is a ground-dwelling herbivore that inhabits the forests of central Africa. Gorillas move about by knuckle-walking. Males range in height from 1. 75 m, and in weight from 140 kg tos (Gorilla gorilla)
• DogThis article discusses the domestic dog. For other members of the dog family, see Canidae. The dog is a canine omnivorous mammal that has been domesticated for somewhere between 14,000 and 150,000 years. In those millennia, the dog has developed into hunds, WolvesThe Wolf or Grey Wolf Canis lupus is a mammal of the Canidae family and the ancestor of the domestic dog. Wolves once had an almost worldwide distribution, but are now limited primarily to North America, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Their preference on h (Canis lupus)
• ChimpanzeePan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzees also called chimps are the common name for two species in the genus Pan . The best known chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes the Common Chimpanzee, living in West and Central Africa. Its cousin, the Bonobo or Pygmy Chimps (Pan troglodytes)
• LionThe Lion Panthera leo is a mammal of the family Felidae. The male lion, who is easily recognized by his mane, may weigh up to 250 kg (550 lb). Females are much smaller, weighing up to only 180 kg (400 lb). In the wild lions live for around 10 14 years, whs (Panthera leo)