2. Sex and Violence Among the Apes

Global Problems of Population Growth (MCDB 150) Chimpanzee males compete for position in a dominance hierarchy; status often depends on support from other members, including females, of the group. High ranking males have much greater sexual access to females in estrus. Males control females by physical violence and intimidation. Chimpanzees also engage in purposeful raids to kill members of other chimpanzee groups. This intergroup violence can help explain intragroup violence. To fend off attack from other groups, males must remain in groups and that requires males to compete for mating opportunities within the community. Competition for the scarce resource, eggs, leads to malemale violence and male coercion of females. If the alpha male monopolized all reproductive potential, then evolution would push nondominant males to either fight continually for dominance or to leave the group and find females elsewhere. The chimpanzee solution is to allow all males some (though very unequal) reproductive p