(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers
studying gorillas in Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda has reported on a
developing trend observed in mountain gorillas—mobs attacking single
individuals for unknown reasons. In their paper published in Scientific
Reports, Stacy Rosenbaum, Veronica Vecellio and Tara Stoinski describe three
mob attacks that have been observed by several human witnesses over the past
decade and offer some possible explanations.
For most of the modern study of
gorillas in their native environment, the consensus has been that they are
generally docile with one another—there have been observations of males
fighting, sometimes to the death, but for the most part, the life of the
gorilla was thought to be one of mostly peaceful. But now, it appears that the
peace can be disturbed by the occasional mob attack on a single individual or,
as the researchers note, two individuals.
In the first witnessed attack,
back in 2004, Rosenbaum was actually one of the witnesses. She describes the
incident as arising seemingly out of nowhere. A single male the team had named
Inshuti approached a group of gorillas the researchers had named the Beetsme. After
some initial rebuffs, the lone male continued to seek acceptance. Then one of
the gorillas screamed—the witnesses could not say if it was Inshuti or a member
of the group. That was followed by three adult males chasing Inshuti until they
caught him and pinned him to the ground. Soon thereafter, the rest of the
Beetsme group arrived and all of them (including females and youngsters)
participated in causing harm to Inshuti—from pulling hair to scratching and
kicking. The leader of the Beetsme sunk his teeth into the gorilla's flesh and
shook it like a fighting dog. The mob attack continued for just a few minutes,
but then stopped just as quickly as it had started. The attackers walked away
and Inshuti slunk into the underbrush to attend to his wounds.
The researchers report on two
other similar incidents, one of which included an attack on Inshuti and another
male. They note that mob attacks by other apes, including chimps, is common, as
in humans, but until these recent incidents, it was thought gorillas were
gentle giants, unlikely to engage in such violence. The team admits they do not
know why the gorillas have
begun acting like mobs at times but note that it has occurred during a time
when the mountain gorilla population has grown due to conservation efforts.
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