Image source, Aaron Sandel via ReutersImage caption, This shows adult male chimpanzees of one group attacking a male chimpanzee of another group in 2019ByHafsa KhalilPublished10 April 2026 The world's largest known group of wild chimpanzees has split and been locked in a vicious "civil war" for the last eight years, according to researchers. It is not clear exactly why the once close-knit community of Ngogo chimpanzees at Uganda's Kibale National Park are at loggerheads, but since 2018 the scientists have recorded 24 killings, including 17 infants. "These were chimps that would hold hands," lead author Aaron Sandel said. "Now they're trying to kill each other." The study, published in the journal Science, external, says the intensity and duration of the violence may inform how early human conflict developed. Wild chimpanzees filmed using forest 'first aid' Published14 May 2025 Sandel, an anthropologist from the University of Texas in the US, and co-director of the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project, says chimpanzees are "very territorial", and have "hostile interactions with those from other groups".
Published: April 10, 2026 4:52 pm
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