Caught on Cam: First Lethal Attack of Chimpanzees on Gorillas

Researchers located in Germany have observed recent attacks by chimpanzees and forced engagement with the larger species of Gorillas.

The main reason is not yet concluded whether it is about the food supply, territory, climate change or the decline of rainforest productivity. What is new to the eyes of the public is that Chimpanzees are the one coming up for a fight for the first time. 

(Photo : Photo by Dušan veverkolog on Unsplash)

Chimpanzees vs Gorillas 

The Loango Chimpanzee Project of 2005 consisted of 45 chimpanzees to analyze and study their ways of surviving in the wild, hunting behavior and interaction between other animals like the Gorillas. Though for the past couple of years they have relatively lived in peace and harmony, playing with each other, recently has been seen fighting for some reasons.

Maybe friendly playful interactions but this is something to be observed. According to Tobias Deschner, lead primatologist for Revolutionary Anthropology "Our observations provide the first evidence that the presence of chimpanzees can have a lethal impact on gorillas. We now want to investigate the factors triggering these surprisingly aggressive interactions".

Also read: In 30 Years, African Great Apes Risk Being Homeless as Their Territory Faces Degradation

Authors insights about the lethal attack

The authors of the study have said in some interviews that they were alarmed when they heard chimpanzees shouting and the gorillas were chest pounding which is a display characteristic of engaging fights with other species. According to the information gathered, the engagement lasted for 52 and 79 minutes, respectively.

With their hunting behaviors and improved fighting stunts, the chimpanzees outsmarted the gorillas taking 2 gorilla infants and were killed along the way. Male adults were fighting with each other, and the female adults were guarding their offspring during the said scenario.

In conclusion, the authors thought of many conclusions but have been brought into one huge factor which is strong competition to food resources. It has been caused by climate change in which the resources have been roughly scarce for their number and is not enough which results in them fighting for it.

According to Simone Pika, "Our study shows that there is still a lot to explore and discover about our closest living relatives, and that Loango National Park with its unique mosaic habitat is a unique place to do so."

Differences: Chimpanzee vs. Gorilla

Chimpanzees or also known as Pan Troglodytes, are commonly found on tropical forests and mostly settle on the lands of Africa. Chimpanzees have approximately a height of 1 to 1.7 meters or around 3 feet to 5.5 feet.

In appearance, they are covered with a coat of black or brown fur the same as with the Gorillas depending on the breed, their faces are clear and do not have any fur within, and male chimpanzees are much bigger than the females.

On the other hand, Gorillas or also known as Genus Gorilla, are considered the largest apes whose heights vary from 1.25 to 1.8 meters or around 3.5 feet to 6 feet. They have 2 kinds of species and 4 sub species namely the Eastern Gorillas and the Western Gorillas.

In appearance, they are large ranging from 135 to 220 kilograms, they are huge in form with muscles, they have thick furs, and have skin and hair as black unlike the chimpanzees who have white skin tones.

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