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Chimpanzee Raiding

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Between-community raiding; Border patrols; Coalitionary killing; Conspecific killing; Gang attacks; Intergroup aggression; Intergroup conflict; Lethal raiding; Lethal violence

Definition

Lethal raiding is a form of coalitionary, intergroup aggression observed in chimpanzees in which a party leaves its core range to find and attempt to kill strongly outnumbered and isolated members of neighboring communities.

Introduction

While intergroup conflict is common in social animals, fatal aggression is rare and usually a result of accidental injury during escalated fights (Manson and Wrangham 1991). However, in some species, such as chimpanzees and humans, intergroup aggression appears to be marked by coalitionary, apparently deliberate attempts to kill conspecifics. In chimpanzees, this behavior is likely facilitated by their fission-fusion dynamics, male philopatry, and resource defense polygynandry. We review several proposed hypotheses on the adaptive function of this behavior,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

    Pieter H. A. Nyssen

  2. School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Nicola F. Koyama

Authors
  1. Pieter H. A. Nyssen
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  2. Nicola F. Koyama
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Correspondence to Pieter H. A. Nyssen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Counseling and Psychology, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN, USA

    Stephanie A. Kazanas

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Nyssen, P.H.A., Koyama, N.F. (2020). Chimpanzee Raiding. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3295-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3295-1

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