In a wild baboon population studied by Gesquiere et al. (2011), alpha males had cortisol levels elevated to a range typical of the lowest-ranking males, while the lowest cortisol levels were found in second-ranking males.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by the original peer-reviewed Science paper (Gesquiere et al. 2011) and corroborated by NIH-archived version and NYT science reporting. [tier=silver indep_score=1.0 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable | framework convergence=single on Gesquiere et al. (2011) Science paper and underlying Amboseli long-term baboon dataset (upstreams: Gesquiere et al. 2011, Science, Amboseli Baboon Research Project) — publishers independent, evidence may not be | kind=attributed eligibility=high]
Sources
- Of Baboons and Men: Social Circumstances, Biology, and the Social Gradient in Health (seed:psychology_and_neuroscience)
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1207120 (corroboration)
- https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/science/16baboon.html (corroboration)