Did you know this?! WTF perverse scary monkeys

[Tangled59]

Happy Saturday morning MN!
So last night (wild Friday night, woo!) I watched a documentary about monkeys. Here's what the narrator had to say About chimpanzees:
"From the age of 15, male chimpanzees begin a life devoted to terrorising and brutalising the females". Essentially female chimps appear to live in a state of continuous panic and terror. Narrator continued: "Other than humans, no other species is as cruel and violent to its fellow members".

It then switched to bonobos, a female-led society where they basically hump each other as a solution to everything (literally, a male was acting up so the matriarch chased him down and then peace-fucked him back into harmony).

But I can't stop thinking about the chimps! Isn't that quite depressing? I always thought gorillas were the scariest monkeys but watching the chimps lounge by the river, using tools to fish and practiscing mobbing made me think fucking hell - part of me would actually rather stumble upon a tiger than a group of chimps.

Oh guys, this is a nasty world.

I worked for the crown prosecution service and almost have ptsd - I was only there a few years, but it was awful what humans can do to each other.

Why do we expect animals to be better behaved?

I agree BarbarianMum. One of the children we were with couldn’t bear to look at the chimps and wanted to get out of the enclosure because he couldn’t bear to see how they lived. It really affected him.

I think lots of animals act this way.

I watched a female sparrow sat on the roof the other day, she was repeatedly raped by several male sparrows.

Not all animals are cute and well behaved, most are sex pests, chimps are one of the worst.

I've always known that dolphins were evil. Little fuckers.

"From the age of 15, male chimpanzees begin a life devoted to terrorising and brutalising the females".

That's how men would have behaved before humans evolved. Some men haven't managed the evolution bit yet have they?

There certainly is such a thing as consent in the animal kingdom. "Female choice" is the cornerstone of sexual selection in many species (esp birds). But it's not universal.

On the contrary drizzle the aggression and violence is just as likely to be an adaptive response to human evolution than a throwback. Now there's a depressing thought.

Slarty yes hippo's are indeed one of the most dangerous - to humans though. I think the example OP gave was animal on animal (literally!) focused.

PPs are correct - it's not rape when it comes to animals. There's not a great deal of consenting going on in many cases - just get on, get in, get off. At best the male will respond to the female not 'being ready' (not being in estrus so not going to fall pregnant) but once she is, then that's kind of as consenty as it gets.

I still do not feel unkindly towards these animals though - it's brutal but that's how it is, that's how they've survived through millennia. At no time do they repeatedly have sex with a female thinking "ha I'm going to humiliate you and hurt you you bitch" - it's the human rapists that do it to dominate, humiliate, subjugate - it doesn't have anything to do with reproduction or obtaining food or anything even remotely 'noble', it's based on hatred and as difficult as it is to stomach this apparently similar behaviour in animals, they don't hate on each other like we do (some, not all of us of course).

@BarbarianMum agree... I refuse to go there anymore because of that room

Many years ago I read an article about Orangutans and the villagers who live close by them. It mentioned that occasionally village women were raped by Orangutans, usually the ones large enough that they couldn't fight them off. They seemed to find it a source of irritation rather than traumatising though, like dogs that try to hump your leg. It was better in this situation to let them get on with it as it only took seconds vs getting injured by a large aggressive ape. So not sure Orangutans are always as peaceful as they are made out to be either!

I live on a river. Don’t talk to me about ducks........

Doinit What is your point?

You should have seen what Skippy the Bush Kangaroo got up to when the cameras stopped rolling....

Seriously though, coped with all of the animals I saw in SA and in Australia when on travels, except for baboons and other apes or monkeys. Scared the life out of me.

@Roomba
shudder

But im sure I have read of chimps using "rape" as a war technique. That certainly would be rape, wouldnt it, if we define rape as an act of violence.

There is amazing footage on YouTube of the silverback who preotected the little boy who fell into the enclosure, he chased other gorillas away and then stroked the little boys back. He ran off when the boy started crying but still made sure others stayed away

Sadly a similar incident happened in a zoo in America a few years ago and they shot dead the silverback who appeared to be protecting the child but I guess the chance was you great to take

I am still traumatised about seeing my baby boy kitten quite violently have sex with his step sister (they were actually cousins) they went off the the vet the next day he never tried again after

I bloody knew it - I hate monkeys with their little quasi human faces and find chimps and bonobos very scary.
I do like Gorillas and Orang utangs though, but I’m not sure I would want to meet one in a dark alley ( or jungle)

Enthusiasm, neutering your animals is what responsible animal carers do. Otherwise they follow their instincts but you know that.

Can I recommend rabbits? Dominance is shown by humping the other rabbits but its frequently the female who is the dominant partner.

I think you'll find the mosquito is proably the animal most dangerous to humans in Africa. It just doesn't look impressive on safari posters. Wild chimps are not dangerous to humans as they try and avoid them at all costs.

Er Platy not especially trying to 'make a point', just commenting, thinking out loud... you know?

Fab thread topic by the way OP!!

True Barbarian, true - if we're going outside of the 'mammal' group. Horrible bloody things, can't stand 'em. Mostly because they like me and would suck out every ounce of blood given the chance!

I think gorillas are lovely.

One of the best things I've ever seen on tv was David Attenborough with the gorillas (think it was one of the Life On Earth series)

They were so gentle. and he just sat among them and they started grooming him.

Chimps are brutal and scarey but the animal that really gives me the willies is the crocodile. They are so mean and creepy, I feel no compassion that they sometimes get made into handbags.

You would have to be a complete moron to think keeping a chimp as a pet was a good idea. Lady in the US had a neighbour who kept one and it tore her foot clean off. They are absolutely horrible.

I love chimps but they are high octane unpredictable aggressive beasts.

Gorillas are interesting - don't we share 98% DNA?

I've been googling videos of Koko the gorilla who has been taught to sign language.

Interesting to see her chat with her owner.

I am terrified of apes & monkeys. Except orangutans & tamarins but may have to cross orangutans off now. My dad told me when I was very young that a chimp could bite my arm off so have been wary since. I also visited a monkey sanctuary & somehow ended up in the middle of a group with an elder shaking a tree & baring his teeth at me. Thought I was going to be attacked!

For me I thinks it that fact they are as like us but stronger but wild with base animalistic instinct if that makes sense.