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Excluding humans, what is the largest recorded (non-fictional) example of a pitched battle between two groups of animals of the same species?
Question
#40733. Asked by gmackematix. (Nov 04 03 12:23 AM)
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lothruin
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Chimpanzee's are known to carry out fairly dramatic battles between troops. So are most other social primates.
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gmackematix
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Well there was an incident known as the Great Bengal Frog War that occurred on November 8th, 1970. As others joined in, what started as a squabble between about 50 frogs, within hours had led to a fight between thousands of them. By the end of the week the ground was strewn with dead frogs. Some naturalists claimed it was actually a great orgy but could not explain why so many had clawed each other to death.
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lothruin
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As to primates... Chimpanzees, including Bonobos, are known to have sometimes fatal battles between communities, especially with regard to territory, though young females can pass between communities unhindered.
However, with regard to Bonobos, these battles are rare. Peaceable mingling between communities has been witnessed, an event almost unheard of in other chimps. Worth pointing out is that Bonobo society appears to be female rather than male dominated, though a correlation need not be inferred.
Lemurs, another primate, also engage in large territorial battles, though in a somewhat less fatal way. Lemurs travel in familial groups of as many as 40 individuals. They mark their territory with scented secretions, an atypical trait for primates. Ring-Tailed Lemurs have been witnessed having massive scent wars with other groups. Imagine 40 lemurs, ringed tails covered in Odor, waving about above their heads like flags. Then, picture another, similar group, facing off against the first in a sort of West Side Story kind of way. Then, after enough scent-waving has occured, the two groups may or may not charge each other. Lemurs. Little gangs of lemurs. They're strange folk.
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