Nature of war: Chimps inherently violent

Science Daily ^ | September 17, 2014 | Lincoln Park Zoo

[Reeses]

Of all of the world's species, humans and chimpanzees are some of the only to engage in coordinated attacks on other members of their same species. Jane Goodall was among the first to introduce the occurrence of lethal inter-community killings and since then primatologists and anthropologists have long debated the concept of warfare in this genus. Research theories have pointed to increased gains and benefits of killing off competitors and opening up increased access to key resources such as food or mates. In contrast, others have argued that warfare is a result of human impact on chimpanzees, such as habitat destruction or food provisioning, rather than adaptive strategies.

[Wicket]

25 or so years ago, I was a volunteer at our local zoo in Portland when Jane Goodall came to speak to our group. She had recently discovered “tribal warfare” between chimp troups and was both surprised and saddened, as she had thought that chimps were superior to humans in that aspect. Funny when you think about it. She apparently hadn’t heard the saying nature red in tooth and claw . . .