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Death of the Alpha: Within?Community Lethal Violence Among Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains National Park

Kaburu, Stefano S.K., Inoue, Sana, Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E. (2013) Death of the Alpha: Within?Community Lethal Violence Among Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains National Park. American Journal of Primatology, 75 (1). pp. 789-797. ISSN 1098-2345. (doi:10.1002/ajp.22135) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:33286)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22135

Abstract

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are capable of extreme violence. They engage in inter?group, sometimes lethal, aggression that provides the winners with an opportunity to enlarge their territory, increase their food supply and, potentially, attract more mates. Lethal violence between adult males also occurs within groups but this is rare; to date, only four cases (three observed and one inferred) have been recorded despite decades of observation. In consequence, the reasons for within?group lethal violence in chimpanzees remain unclear. Such aggression may be rare due to the importance of coalitions between males during inter?group encounters; cooperation between males is also thought to be key in the defense or advancement of social rank within the group. Previous accounts of within?group lethal violence concern victims who were low?ranking males; here we provide the first account of the killing of an incumbent alpha male by a coalition of adult males from the same community. We found no clear evidence that the alpha male’s position was under threat during the months before the lethal attack: the male dominance hierarchy was highly stable, with low rates of male–male aggression, and there were no significant changes in social interactions (i.e. grooming and aggression) between the alpha male and the other adult males. Two of the four attackers were former alpha males and were the individuals with whom the victim appeared, in the period preceding his death, to be most strongly affiliated: his most frequent grooming partners and those with whom he spent most time in proximity. The lethal attack triggered a period of instability in the male hierarchy and was likely an opportunistic attempt to seize alpha status by the third?ranking male.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1002/ajp.22135
Uncontrolled keywords: Pan troglodytes; gang attack; alpha male; Mahale
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH541 Ecology
Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Nicholas Newton-Fisher
Date Deposited: 28 Feb 2013 16:16 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:10 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/33286 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7657-2641
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