Overview
- The Ngogo community in Uganda split into permanent western and central factions by 2018, with at least 24 lethal raids recorded through 2024.
- Researchers tracked about 200 chimpanzees for three decades, using GPS and social‑network data to map movements and alliances.
- All observed attacks were launched by the smaller western faction, which researchers say leveraged tighter cohesion to overcome fewer numbers.
- The team cites a large population, competition for food and mates, shifts in male dominance, and deaths of key connectors as likely triggers.
- Experts warn against equating the violence with human warfare, note a 1970s Gombe split was complicated by human feeding, and report the Ngogo conflict persisted through the latest field records.