Chimpanzees Use Oldest Military Tactics To Keep an Eye on Rival Groups, Avoid Confrontation [Study]

Chimpanzees are like humans when approaching zones outside their territories. A new study suggests that they are more careful when on the borders of a rival territory.

Chimpanzee Uses Human-Like Military Tactics

A new study followed chimpanzees in the West African forests of Côte d'Ivoire for three years. The researchers observed that they used high grounds to monitor their rival groups, much like people when in combat.

This method is considered one of the oldest military tactics in human history. The strategy was previously believed to be exclusive to humans. These chimpanzees were tracked by scientists across their ranges and the locations of their sporadic fights. They discovered that while traveling to the boundaries of competitor territories, they were twice as likely to ascend to high elevations as when moving within those regions.

From higher ground, the chimps did not speak, did not forage, and did not engage in other typical activities. These two results imply that their only purpose for being on higher terrain was to locate other rival groups' positions before invading their domain. This also means foresight since their actions changed by where their adversaries were.

The ability to identify competitors at significantly greater distances than anticipated in light of chimpanzees' auditory abilities surprised researchers the most, lead author of the study and biological anthropologist Dr. Sylvain Lemoine of the University of Cambridge's Department of Archaeology said. Although being higher up increases the detection range, these chimpanzees can still detect competitors at a distance of more than [1.24 miles]. They confirmed that, surprisingly, considering the great distances between neighboring communities, chimpanzees can assess not just their numbers but also those of their rivals from a distance. Although the mechanisms underlying long-distance number detection are unknown, they most likely include hearing far-off neighbors' buttress drumming and pant hoots.

Other animals use the same technique for other purposes. For instance, meerkats reportedly use high grounds to warn others about predators. However, chimpanzees used it to avoid confrontation or fighting. Per Lemoine, the group even included 30 to 40 adult chimps, who reportedly scout the borders to guard their territory.

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Western Chimpanzee Born at Chester Zoo

In December, Chester Zoo welcomed a new addition to its family after ZeeZee gave birth to a baby chimp. Zeezee got pregnant eight times before she delivered the youngest one.

Since the chimp species is in grave danger of going extinct, the emergence of a new member is crucial. The population of Western chimpanzees is merely 50,000. Western Chimp claimed that during the last several decades, their population had decreased by 80%.

The attraction's team manager, Andrew Lenihan, expressed how happy they were to have a new chimpanzee join the family. After the newborn was delivered, the new mother and her child allegedly bonded immediately. According to reports, ZeeZee is raising her child well. She tends to him and feeds him.

The group was excited about the baby's arrival, and raising children became a family affair. Stevie, ZeeZee's daughter, is helping her grow the newborn chimp, as female chimps frequently do. ZeeZee needs relaxation, and it seems Stevie got it by helping her mom raise her baby brother.