Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Chimps tend to pick on the runt of the litter, and to displace their own anger away from higher-ranking chimps (who might do them harm) to those who are milder-tempered, younger, weaker, and female. At Gombe in 1966 there was a polio epidemic which resulted in the partial paralysis of full-fledged members of the group. Crippled by their disease, they were forced to move in odd ways, dragging limbs. Other chimps were at first afraid; then they threatened the afflicted, and then attacked them.

Because aggression is episodic and friendly relations so much more common, some early field observers were tempted by the notion that chimps in a state of nature (that is, unimprisoned) are non-violent and peace-loving. This is not the case. In hunting other animals, in working the dominance hierarchy, in hustling the females, in peevish moments, and in skirmishes with other groups of chimps (the Strangers, in our narrative), they show themselves capable of great violence.

Meat contains essential amino acids and other molecular building blocks more difficult to acquire from plants. Both sexes are ravenous for meat. On rare occasions, females will attack other females in their group and steal and eat their infants. Once the little one is in hand, there are no ill feelings directed to the mother of the tiny victim. In one case, a female approached those who were eating her baby; one of the diners responded by putting out her arms to embrace and comfort the grieving mother. Chimps are known to hunt mice, rats, small birds, a twenty-kilogram adolescent bush pig, monkeys such as baboons and colubuses, and other chimps.

A successful hunt is accompanied by enormous excitement. The spectators scream, hug, kiss, and pat one another reassuringly. Those actually involved in the kill immediately begin feeding, or attempt to carry off tasty body parts. The forest is filled with screeches, barks, pants, and hoots—which attract additional chimps, sometimes from a considerable distance. Generally males help themselves to bigger portions than females. Those of high rank are more likely to distribute the spoils, and one way or another most who are actually present at the kill gain a share. Newcomers plead for morsels. Pieces will be stolen, and the chimp whose prize has been taken will be furious, perhaps indulging in a temper tantrum. Portions of meat are taken to bed for midnight snacks.

A rat may be eaten head first. A monkey or young antelope is often killed by having its head smashed against a rock or tree trunk, or by giving it a vampirish bite in the back of the neck. Almost always the brains are eaten first. This is often the prize of the hunter who performs the actual kill. Other tasty body parts include the genitals of male victims and the fetuses of pregnant female victims. Goodall reports the final, attenuated, scream of a young bush pig as a chimp, like some ancient Aztec priest, tore out its living heart. Cooking has not yet been invented, nor flatware, nor table manners, nor squeamishness. This is a world of red blood and raw meat.

Janis Carter describes³⁰

a juvenile chimp and a colubus monkey, about its own size, grooming one another; but when the colubus is seized by the tail and killed by a passing adult chimp, who bashes its head against a tree, the juvenile readily enough joins in devouring its erstwhile playmate. Most of the monkey (and small mammal) victims of chimp predation are infants and juveniles, often snatched from their mothers’ arms. Sometimes the mother tries to rescue the infant and is herself eaten.

In this world there is no mercy shown to food, even if it’s still ambulatory. Food is for eating. Those who are moved to mercy eat less and leave fewer offspring. Clearly the chimps do not recognize monkeys, or chimps of other groups, or even members of their own group as deserving of mercy or other moral considerations. They may be heroic in defending their own young, but they do not show the least compassion for the young of other groups of species. Perhaps they consider them “animals.”

Hunting is a cooperative endeavor. Cooperation is essential for making the larger kills—and also for avoiding their dangers, such as an enraged bush pig charging, tusks first, to save its young. The hunters exhibit real teamwork. One chimp may softly call to another when it has detected prey in the underbrush. They smile to one another. The victim is flushed out of its cover toward other chimps who are lying in wait. Escape routes are blocked off. Ambushes are refined. Plays are called. The chimps—so passionate after the kill—were coolly planning it all out beforehand.

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