Chimpanzee neighbors turning into mortal enemies wasn't what researchers expected to document in Uganda's Kibale National Park—but that's exactly what's unfolded among two clusters of the Ngogo chimps, a group of 200 popularized by the 2023 documentary Chimp Empire. The New York Times calls it "a primate version of civil war," with possible clues to how violence erupted among ancient humans. "I feel like a war correspondent, in a way," primatologist Aaron Sandel, lead author of a study published Thursday in Science, tells the outlet, noting he's seen "so many dead bodies."
All 28 deaths since 2018 have come from Ngogo's Central cluster at the hands of the Western cluster. The two groups were socially linked for two decades—grooming, hunting, and patrolling together. Now, it's possible the Western cluster may ultimately eliminate the once-larger Central cluster, which is allied with a third Eastern group so far excluded from the fighting, per the Times. The spark remains a mystery, though researchers suspect the 2014 deaths of several highly social males may have removed key bridges between the two clusters, allowing for polarization. A later disease outbreak appears to have expedited the split, per the Guardian.
The stakes go beyond chimp behavior: researchers say the work could illuminate how warfare emerged among ancient humans. This is the first time deadly conflict has been observed among non-human groups that were once joined, the study notes. While chimps have been known to kill outsiders, "cases where neighbors are killing neighbors is more troubling and, in a way, it gets closer to the human condition," Sandel tells the Guardian. However, there's some concern that the research will be forced to end without concrete answers. As the Times reports, proposed US budget cuts would slash funding for the National Science Foundation, which funds the research, by more than half.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
