Chimpanzees use war tactics once thought to be unique to humans
A development that makes one wonder if the Planet of the Apes movies are becoming reality: It has been revealed that chimpanzees have begun using war tactics previously thought to be unique to humans.
12punto
Chimpanzees in West African forests are exhibiting a behavior not seen before. Chimpanzees tactically move to higher ground to gain a better vantage point and gather information to scout rival groups. This “intelligence” is then used to decide on subsequent steps. Humans have used this war tactic for centuries, but this behavior had not been previously reported in chimpanzees.
THEY EXHIBITED BEHAVIORS THOUGHT TO BE UNIQUE TO HUMANS
According to details reported in Chip, this behavior was documented at Taï National Park in Ivory Coast during a three-year study conducted by the University of Cambridge and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
The team collected GPS data and over 21,000 hours of monitoring records regarding two neighboring western chimpanzee groups comprising a total of 58 apes. Because the territories of these two chimpanzee groups share a border, these groups often have to compete for resources, and this struggle can turn into violence. The researcher's observations showed that the chimpanzees regularly patrolled their poorly defined borders to maintain control.
Dr. Sylvain Lemoine, the lead author of the study and a biological anthropologist at the University of Cambridge's Department of Archaeology, said in a statement, “Patrols are usually carried out in subgroups that stay close and limit noise. As an observer, you feel that the patrol has started. They move and stop at the same time, just like a hunt.”
A common feature of these patrols was that the chimpanzees usually traveled upward through higher, rugged terrain while advancing toward the border where territorial disputes occurred. However, when returning to their own territory from these areas, they tended to avoid these hills, preferring easier and flatter routes.
It was also revealed that the chimpanzees' next moves were determined by the information they gathered from the hill. After gathering information about their rivals, the probability of advancing into “enemy territory” increased from 40 percent when rivals were 500 meters away, to 50 percent at 1,000 meters, and 60 percent at 3,000 meters.
TACTICAL WARFARE
Dr. Lemoine says, “Tactical warfare is considered a driving force of human evolution,” and continues: “This chimpanzee behavior requires complex cognitive abilities that help protect or expand their territory and is favored by natural selection. Using terrain for territorial control has deep roots in our evolutionary history. In this use of war-like strategy by chimpanzees, we are likely seeing traces of the first small-scale wars that existed in prehistoric hunter-gatherer populations.”
The new study was published in the journal PLOS Biology.