Female chimp infanticide might be common

May 14, 2007 17:35

By Charles Q. ChoiThe killing of infant wild chimpanzees by female adults of their own kind may be more common than was thought ( Read more... )

female agression, chimpanzees, mothers, infanticide, biological anthropology, aggression, primatology

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shaydlip May 14 2007, 23:17:44 UTC
"Boston University biological anthropologist Martin Muller, who did not participate in this study, said that "it does seem likely that as humans further encroach on chimpanzee populations we can expect to see more of this kind of aggression, as competition for resources increases among the chimpanzees." "

A point that is alluded to but not explicitly stated is that even though in the past this type of infanticide was not documented as much was probably because it simply wasn't happening as much, because humans hadn't encroached as much on habits. These "new findings" might be due to the changing habitat more than fallible methodologies as seems to be suggested here.

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beckyzoole May 14 2007, 23:19:43 UTC
I agree.

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