Chimpanzees in Uganda locked in vicious 'civil war', say researchers

Chimpanzees in Uganda locked in vicious 'civil war', say researchers20 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHafsa KhalilAaron Sandel via ReutersThis shows adult male chimpanzees of one group attacking a male chimpanzee of another group in 2019The world's largest known group of wild chimpanzees has split and been locked in a vicious "civil war" for the last eight years, according to researchers.It is not clear exactly why the once close-knit community of Ngogo chimpanzees at Uganda's Kibale National Park are at loggerheads, but since 2018 the scientists have recorded 24 killings, including 17 infants."These were chimps that would hold hands," lead author Aaron Sandel said. "Now they're trying to kill each other."The study, published in the journal Science, says the intensity and duration of the violence may inform how early human conflict developed.Wild chimpanzees filmed using forest 'first aid'Sandel, an anthropologist from the University of Texas in the US, and co-director of the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project, says chimpanzees are "very territorial", and have "hostile interactions with those from other groups"."[It's] like a fear of strangers," he told the Science podcast.But over several decades, Sandel said the nearly 200 Ngogo chimpanzees had lived in harmony.There were divided into two sets - known to researchers as Western and Central - but they had existed overall as a cohesive group.Sandel said he first noticed them polarising in June 2015, when the Western chimpanzees ran away and were chased by the Central group."Chimpanzees are sort of melodramatic," he said, explaining that following arguments there would ordinarily be "screaming and chasing" and then later, they would grooming and co-operating.But following the 2015 dispute, the researchers saw that there was a six-week avoidance period between the two sets, with interactions beco...