13. What Is War Good for? Ask a Chimpanzee.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_evolution/2012/10/chimpanzee_wars_can_primate_aggression_teach_us_about_human_aggression.html

In 1974, Jane Goodall saw a disturbing occurrence with chimpanzees. The chimpanzees basically beat a chimpanzee from a different territory. However, the chimp attacked was not some stranger to the other chimps. They had all been a part of the same group at one time. Researchers have been observing primate’s behavior and very war-like behaviors are becoming more apparent. There could be other reasons though to violent primate behavior instead of violence is simply part of nature stamped into DNA. Violence can be caused by circumstances. The violence though is not senseless. It is usually to gain territories that conclude new recourses and the chance to attract new mates. Some people, such as R. Brian Ferguson of Rutgers University, think that the violence is because of human interaction. Basically he says the natural relationships between primates have been disrupted due to animals being around humans. Still, the true nature of this “warfare” is a mystery.

The author, Erin Wayman, starts off her informative article with an interesting story from years ago. She also shows two points of views. One that violence is coded into everyone’s DNA and that primates are only acting violent because of human intervention. Lots of examples are given and details about primates are provided for those not familiar with the subject.