Re: [QUAD-L] Surprise! Humankind revisited

[Dana Miller]

This has been known for years.  The chimps will also raid other monkey 
groups and kill to eat the ones they can catch.  Even dolphins can be quite 
savage to its own kind and 'gang up' on an individual.  Sometime its during 
the gathering of females, but not always.  Lions kill the offspring of the 
male they have just dethroned.  Its not just in so-called primates.  The 
heirarchy of a baboon group can be very violent.  If a baby is not born from 
the Alpha female or if the alpha female dies, the offspring has a very bad 
life--if it lives at all.  Hyenas and lion packs have been observed 
'tracking' each other down and killing any pack member they can, and not for 
food.

"All" of nature, even ants, raid and kill.  Humans are not the only ones. 
Many other species do "their thing" and its not pretty.

Dana
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lori Michaelson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Quad" <quad-list@eskimo.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 2:26 PM
Subject: [QUAD-L] Surprise! Humankind revisited


Like W, I have been adamant that humans are the only species that kill for
sport (or anything else besides just killing to eat).
Last night my husband & I were watching the National Geographic Channel.  A
scientist and chimp observer has brought forth the truth that, in more case
studies in the wild, adult male chimps will band together to seek out and
kill another chimpanzee's group as a rival.
We watched the footage.  It was similar to a gang piling up on a single
outcast.  Genitals were ripped off, torso ripped open and a full scale
beating-to-death occurred.  Leaving the dead chimp face up, splayed-open ...
ugly scene.
I guess Jane Goodall ( the first to observe and record behavior suggestive
of ritual among a group of chimpanzees) either didn't report the violence in
her days of study or she missed it.
The programme said...
"The only other "primates" that kill their own kind are in fact, us. Humans
and chimpanzees show a common aggressive tendency and will actively seek out
and kill members of their own species. Chimpanzees and humans are the only
other species that, out of 4000 other mammal species and 10 million other
non-mammal species, have been observed to hunt and kill members of a rival
group."
Or ...
It has been known for eons that animals will sometimes fight with each other
but systematic warfare was considered a uniquely human trait. It is now
known that chimpanzees sometimes engage in long-term aggression with
neighboring groups and will systematically murder each member of the “enemy”
group. This is accomplished by a band of mostly males silently searching for
isolated members of the rival community and killing them. Such campaigns can
last months on end with frequently repeated excursions into the rivals’
territory.
Chimps and gorillas were long considered to be relatively docile and placid
creatures, but today we know that they can be vicious killers. In gorillas,
the killing is usually done by lone males, intent on displacing a male rival
in order to gain access to a harem of females. And sometimes the loser is
not the only one who gets killed. A victorious male may extend the slaughter
to include the loser's infant offspring.
Chimps can take killing to a more sinister level. Acting in small, roving
gangs, they have been seen making commando-style raids on neighbouring chimp
groups, singling out individuals for slaughter. These kinds of attacks can
go on, intermittently, for years, until all rivals are killed or evicted. In
simple terms, it is nothing less than systematic genocide.
The more you know ... the less blind you become :-)
Lori