Infanticide in chimpanzees: Review of cases and a new within-group observation from the Kanyawara study group in Kibale National Park |
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Authors: | Adam Clark Arcadi Richard W Wrangham |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Hofstra University, 104 Heger Hall, 11549 Hempstead, New York, USA;(2) Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, 02138 Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |
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Abstract: | A prolonged attack on a mother and 2-year-old infant that resulted in the death of the infant was observed in the Kanyawara
study group in Kibale National Park. The mother was a border-area resident who was first observed associating with unit-group
males six years previously. The attackers were an adult male and an adult female with a 6-week-old infant clinging ventrally
to her. The attack was unusual in several respects: it is the first time a male and a female chimpanzee have been observed
cooperating closely in an infanticidal attack; the adult female initially attempted to intervene in the victim's behalf, but
later joined in the attack after receiving aggression from the male; and the episode was longer in duration than other reported
cases. In the year following the incident, the mother did not increase her association with community males, but was seen
with the male who killed her infant. The relevance of these observations to sexual selection-based explanations for infanticide
in chimpanzees is discussed. |
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Keywords: | Chimpanzee Infanticide Cooperation Sexual selection Kanyawara |
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