John Mitani

Again, social relationships can change.

And this too may have played a role.

So at the end of the day, I'm not sure that there was any one factor.

It was this unusual combination of things.

Well, when they kill each other, these are really difficult things to watch and observe.

It's usually a one-sided affair.

Chimps, again, achieve strength in numbers.

So when attacks are made, they generally occur when there are far more individuals than the victims.

You know, go over here as we witnessed earlier.

The outsizing of the group.

Yeah, I can't even count how many times we've witnessed this.

But generally it's a situation where there's, you know, 10, 15, 20 or more ganging up on a single individual that has been isolated.

Right.

Who they can actually attack and then kill.

So it really is an unfair kind of situation, but...

Well, it's horrific.

And it's like I indicated, it's very difficult to watch.

Made especially more so now because these are individuals I know.

I've studied them for 30 years.

I've known some of them throughout their lives.