One more war has broken out on the earth – but this time amongst monkeys.
Scientists have observed the first-ever ‘chimp civil war’ on the earth’s largest group of Ngogo chimpanzees.
A pack of 200 great apes lived in harmony in Uganda’s Kibale National Park for many years until their social bonds began to interrupt down in 2015.
In June that 12 months, a few of the Ngogo chimps chased away their mates, causing the community to separate into the Central and Western groups.
Still, the rival groups had Romeo and Juliet-style relationships and shared land and resources, based on a study published today in Science.
But by 2018, the last of the friendships ended, and the apes began patrolling their homes and even carrying out raids into enemy territory.
Enroll for all of the most recent stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Over the following 4 years, Western males killed seven males and 17 infants from the Central group.
An extra 14 adolescent chimps, who had shown no sign of illness, disappeared; their bodies were never recovered.
The study’s lead creator, Aaron Sandel, a primatologist on the University of Texas, said more deadly attacks were seen after the study led to 2024.
‘Nothing like this has ever been observed before,’ Sandel said. ‘[Ngogo] is the primary time that you could possibly say definitively that the civil war is definitely happening.’
Why the larger community broke down is unclear, but Sandel suspects that as their population swelled in numbers, the social order broke down.
Competition over food and the death and resulting succession of alpha males could have also been an element, the paper says.
Chimpanzees are humankind’s closest living ancestors, having been seen making tools, falling in love, grieving and becoming violent.
These complex behaviours are passed from generation to generation and chimps even have ‘culminative cultures’, something only seen in people.
Many animals form cultures, where they learn something from one other, but chimps have been seen innovating what they learn from others over time.
One reason, experts consider, is that chimps mingle a lot, allowing for social learning. Chimp communities very rarely fracture, only doing so every 500 years.
Sandel hopes the team’s findings help people understand not only why we wage wars against each other but additionally how we will live in peace.
‘What now we have to do is maintain interpersonal relationships,’ he says.
‘In our own every day lives with the folks that we interact with, if we will reunite – even within the face of conflict – then I feel that’s a recipe for maintaining peace.’
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Cat and dog develop into friends after they’re rescued from warzone by a drone
MORE: Tourists ignore signs to remain back to grab selfies with Highland cows
MORE: Incredible makeover for 250 dogs present in only one home