How aggressive are chimpanzees?

The closest creatures to humans are chimpanzees, sometimes referred to as our cousins. More than 98% of human DNA is thought to have come from ancestors who lived four to eight million years ago, which is similar to chimpanzees. They coexist with other animals in social societies. They can readily adapt to living in the grasslands, woodlands, and rain forests of Africa. Their diet is diverse, consisting of animals, plants, fruits, and other unidentified things.

Since 2005, scientists have been keeping an eye on a troop of chimpanzees in Senegal. By 2007, they recognized Foudouko as the alpha leader. He was in charge of about thirty western chimpanzees in Fongoli, a savanna spanning roughly ten square miles in southeast Senegal. Two years later, a group of young men deposed him. He tried to rejoin the group in the middle of 2013, but for years after losing his position of authority, he lived outside of it. Then, someone from the community he used to live in viciously killed him. The chimpanzees’ killing of a member of their own group was an uncommon occurrence.

The researchers discovered that there are fights that result in fatalities at every chimpanzee site that has been examined for over ten years. But one of the casualties of these battles was Foudouko. His body had been partially cannibalized, bloodied, and battered. This was captured on camera, along with the gory scene’s aftermath. This demonstrated that chimpanzees have experienced fatal violence before.

The alpha males and their coalitions of male allies lead the chimpanzee societies, with the females and the young following. Once they achieve sexual maturity, men often stay in their birth community and pursue social supremacy, while females typically join new groups.