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Re: cannibalism among chimps
Yousuf Khan (ykhan@achilles.net)
Thu, 29 Aug 1996 14:35:28 GMT
On 28 Aug 1996 00:28:34 -0700, raven@kaiwan.com (/\/\ ) wrote:
>In article <4ve18b$e3a@hermes.achilles.net>,
>ykhan@achilles.net (Yousuf Khan) wrote:
>>Hello,
>>
>>I don't know if this is the appropriate newsgroup to post this.
>>If it isn't then just don't post any responses in this newsgroup
>>and send me a message via e-mail telling me where to go.
>>
>>I was watching a show chronicleing the life of various tribes of
>>chimpanzees. There was one tribe in which males would kidnap one
>>of the babies from one of the mothers and ritualistically
>>cannibalize the baby. Has there been any explanation found for
>>such behaviour, since that show aired? It seems to happen only
>>within one tribe of chimps, and they cannibalize their own
>>youngsters, not necessarily youngsters from neighbouring tribes,
>>which seemed particularly vicious to me (probably indicative of
>>deep tensions within the tribe).
>>
>>Are there any sites devoted to this topic?
>Not that I'm aware of, but I know something that can add to your
>'database'. Another show, from Jane Goodall's study, showed a
>mother/daughter pair that would once in a while, steal a baby
>from within their tribe and cannibalize it. It was rather shocking
>to Mrs. Goodall. In time, the mother died but the daughter did not
>carry on this behavior.
You know, now that you mention that, I remember seeing that
original show too. Also weren't all of that mother's children
involved in the cannibalism, not just a single daughter?
Once the deed was done, the mother would go and console the dead
baby's mother as if it was something that was necessary to be
done.
Yousuf Khan
--
Yousuf J. Khan
ykhan@achilles.net
Ottawa, Ont, Canada
Nation's capital
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