Abstract
Intermale competition was studied in a habituated group of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Mahale Mountains of Tanzania. The group of 27 individuals included 3 adult males and 12 adult females. The beta-ranked male was observed to attack the alpha male and usurp his status. The beta male was supported by an ally, the gamma male. Earlier in the competition the gamma male had supported the alpha male. When the alpha male was displaced, he completely lost what had been an exclusive copulatory right. It was clear that alliance with the most subordinate male was a critically effective strategy for the major competitors. The alliance strategy of the gamma male invested him with important power. The strategy of changing alliance is referred to as “allegiance fickleness.” It is suggested that allegiance fickleness could provide a basis for individual selection of social intelligence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann, J., 1974. Observational study of behavior: sampling methods.Behaviour, 49: 227–267.
Bernstein, I. S., 1976. Dominance, aggression and reproduction in primate societies.J. Theoret. Biol., 60: 459–472.
Bertram, B. C. R., 1976. Kin selection in lions and in evolution. In:Growing Points in Ethology,P. P. G. Bateson &R. A. Hinde (eds.), Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 281–301.
Bygott, J. D., 1979. Agonistic behaviour, dominance and social structure in wild chimpanzees of the Gombe National Park. In:The Great Apes,D. A. Hamburg &E. R. McCown (eds.), The Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp. 405–427.
DeWaal, F. B. M., 1978. Exploitative and familiarity-dependent support strategies in a colony of semi-free living chimpanzees.Behaviour, 66: 268–312.
Goodall (van Lawick-), J., 1968. The behaviour of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve.Anim. Behav. Monogr., 1: 161–311.
————, 1971.In the Shadow of Man. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
————, 1973. The behaviour of chimpanzees in their natural habitat.Amer. J. Psychiat., 130: 1–12.
————, 1975. Chimpanzees of Gombe National Park: thirteen years of research. In:Hominisation und Verhalten,G. Kurth &I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt (eds.), Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, pp. 56–100.
————,A. Bandora, E. Bergmann, C. Busse, H. Matama, E. Mpongo, A. Pierce &D. Riss, 1979. Intercommunity interactions in the chimpanzee population of the Gombe National Park. In:The Great Apes,D. A. Hamburg &E. R. McCown (eds.), The Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp. 13–53.
Itani, J., 1980, Social structures of African great apes.J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl., 28: 33–41.
McGinnis, P. R., 1973. Patterns of sexual behaviour in a community of free-living chimpanzees. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge.
————, 1979. Sexual behaviour in free-living chimpanzees: consort relationships. In:The Great Apes,D. A. Hamburg &E. R. McCown (eds.), The Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp. 429–439.
Nishida, T., 1968. The social group of wild chimpanzees in the Mahali Mountains.Primates, 9: 167–224.
————, 1970. Social behavior and relationship among wild chimpanzees of the Mahali Mountains.Primates, 11: 47–87.
————, 1979. The social structure of chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains. In:The Great Apes,D. A. Hamburg &E. R. McCown (eds.), The Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp. 73–121.
————,S. Uehara &R. Nyundo, 1979. Predatory behavior among wild chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains.Primates, 20: 1–20.
Packer, C., 1977. Reciprocal altruism in olive baboons.Nature, 265: 441–443.
Riss, D. &J. Goodall, 1977. The recent rise to the alpha-rank in a population of free-living chimpanzees.Folia Primatol., 27: 134–151.
Teleki, G., 1977. Spatial and temporal dimensions of routine activities performed by chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. An ethological study of adaptive strategy. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.
Tutin, C. E. G., 1975. Exceptions to promiscuity in a feral chimpanzee community. In:Contemporary Primatology,S. Kondo,M. Kawai &A. Ehara (eds.), S. Karger, Basel, pp. 445–449.
————, 1979. Mating patterns and reproductive strategies in a community of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii).Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 6: 29–38.
————, 1980. Reproductive behaviour of wild chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania.J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl., 28: 43–57.
———— &P. R. McGinnis, 1981. Chimpanzee reproduction in the wild. In:Reproductive Biology of The Great Apes,C. E. Graham (ed.), Academic Press, London, pp. 239–264.
Wilson, E. O., 1975.Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Belknap, Harvard.
Wrangham, R. W., 1975. Behavioural ecology of chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Nishida, T. Alpha status and agonistic alliance in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Primates 24, 318–336 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381978
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381978