Customer Reviews

Chimpanzee and Red Colobus: The Ecology of Predator and Prey

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I'm not a primatologist, thus this review is for people who may have a curiosity about chimp behavior as it may or may not relate to humans -- particularly the "warring behaviors" of chimps. The author packs a lot of research in this book -- statistical and anecdotal. Well written, highly readable. For those who like to see graphs and charts, there are also plenty of those. I bought this book as part of my research for teaching a war short stories college course. I was interested in learning about "violence" in animals and insects and comparing that violence with the human tendency to war. Well, I found plenty of relationships, and after a while, it became difficult to not see human behavior reflected in the fairly objective reports from the author/researcher. The information carnivorous habits (chimps hunt and eat colobus monkeys) is fascinating. As with Jane Goodall's research, the reader learns the individual characteristics and personalities of chimps in their peculiar society -- important, I think, as a way of viewing each animal as a societal force and to understanding the complex interrelationships, and their ties to power struggles. Most importantly, the book provides an insight into human behavior and how we negotiate and manipulate to achieve higher levels of power.