Ngogo chimpanzee war
Date 2015 – present
(10–11 years)
Location
Kibale National Park, Uganda
00°30′N 30°24′E / 0.500°N 30.400°E / 0.500; 30.400
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Western Ngogo chimpanzees Central Ngogo chimpanzees
Strength
108 100+ overall (initially)
Casualties and losses
≥28 Central Ngogo chimpanzees killed (incl. 19 infants)
Ngogo chimpanzee war is located in Uganda
Ngogo chimpanzee war
Location within Uganda
Ngogo chimpanzee war is located in Africa
Ngogo chimpanzee war
Ngogo chimpanzee war (Africa)

The Ngogo chimpanzee war involves two groups of chimpanzees in the Ngogo hill region of Kibale National Park, Uganda which have been engaged in a violent conflict since 2015.[1] The conflict has been characterized by one-sided violence, including killing, brutal attacks, and mutilations, by the Western faction against the Central faction.[2] Because the Ngogo chimpanzees formerly constituted a single peaceful community that violently split apart, this conflict has been described as a "civil war".[3] The New York Times said the conflict was the bloodiest among chimpanzees ever recorded.[2]

This is the second major conflict between chimpanzees that has been observed by primatologists, the first being the Gombe chimpanzee war of the 1970s in Tanzania.

Background

The chimpanzee community initially consisted of about 200 members living in relative cohesion for 20 years in the densely forested Ngogo region of Kibale National Park.[4] Though various cliques existed, they generally cooperated and defended their territory together from other chimpanzee communities. Social cohesion began to break down, however, after several individuals of the Ngogo community, who had helped to "bridge" the gaps between the cliques, died from disease in 2014.[5] Furthermore, a new alpha male rose in the community, furthering tension.[6][7]

Conflict

The large canine teeth of a chimpanzee in Kibale. These are used for dominance displays and fighting.[8]

In 2015, tension among the Ngogo chimpanzees caused low-level violence, with two rival factions emerging.[6] These were described as the Western and Central Ngogo chimpanzees by researchers.[1] By 2018, the division had become complete, and the violence escalated in intensity.[1][6] The Western faction, despite being numerically inferior, launched coordinated lethal raids into the Central Ngogo chimpanzees' territory, seeking out and killing rival adult males. The raiders often ambushed isolated chimpanzees, overwhelming their targets with numbers.[1] From 2021, the Western raiders also began to target and kill infants.[6] The Western faction's attacks were so successful that the conflict has been described as a "one-sided rout", with the Westerners growing in numbers from 76 to 108, while the population of the Central faction suffered a "stepwise decline".[1]

By 2026, at least 28 chimpanzees, including 19 infants, had been killed by the western Nogogo chimpanzees during the conflict.[1] All casualties had been among the members of the Central faction.[2]

Media coverage

The Ngogo community was the primary subject of the 2023 Netflix docuseries Chimp Empire. Directed by James Reed and narrated by Mahershala Ali, the series brought global attention to the "Western" and "Central" factions just as their conflict was escalating. Reed also directed the film Rise of the Warrior Apes before the split between the two factions.[9]

In April 2026, major international outlets including the BBC, The New York Times, and The Guardian reported on a study published in Science. These reports highlighted the war as the first rigorously documented "permanent fission" and subsequent "civil war" in wild chimpanzees without human intervention.[10][failed verification]

See also

  • Killer ape theory, proposed by Raymond Dart in 1953

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Bush, Evan (9 April 2026). "Infants torn from mothers, testicles ripped off: Study describes vicious chimpanzee infighting". NBC News. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Zimmer, Carl (9 April 2026). "These Chimps Began the Bloodiest 'War' on Record. No One Knows Why". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  3. ^ Dinh, Jason P. (9 April 2026). "Two hundred chimpanzees are embroiled in a 'civil war'". Scientific American. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  4. ^ Cohen, Jon (9 April 2026). "What plunged these chimps into civil war? A new study traces the breakdown". www.science.org. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  5. ^ Rott, Nathan (2026-04-13). "What a chimpanzee 'civil war' can teach us about how societies fall apart". NPR. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  6. ^ a b c d Woodward, Aylin (9 April 2026). "Inside the deadly civil war that tore apart a group of Chimpanzees in Uganda". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 April 2026 – via MSN.
  7. ^ Larson, Christina (9 April 2026). "Why these chimps have been at war for 8 years". National Geographic. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  8. ^ Mammal Anatomy, 2010, p. 11, ISBN 9780761478829
  9. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (19 April 2023). "Chimp Empire review – this epic tale of betrayal is like Succession, but with apes". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  10. ^ Khalil, Hafsa (10 April 2026). "Chimpanzees in Uganda locked in vicious 'civil war', say researchers". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2026.

Further reading

  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Pan troglodytes of Kibale National Park at Wikimedia Commons