described above. We do not know at what stage they became involved, whether before,
during or after the death of the infant, and we do not know what role they played in the
infant deaths.
A more fully documented case of infant killing in which females were involved,
already referred to above, was as follows:
Observers were with NB, MS, KU, ML and WL at a Cynometratree off grid to the SE at 13.50. At
13.53 they started to climb down and a few minutes later a large screaming bout started out of sight
to the south. We followed the females towards the screaming. After 7 mins of continuous scream-
ing, we reached the screaming party of chimps. ZF was seen displaying in a tree and many females
and juveniles were screaming up in the trees. A group of chimps was seen moving into a vine tan-
gle, observers followed and found blood on the ground. ZM [adult female] was first seen carrying
the dead infant but shortly after NB [adult female] was seen charging at her. A brief fight ensued
out of sight and NB was then seen with the infant. NR [juvenile female, daughter of NB] then took
the infant and KT [adolescent male, son of KU] and NR dragged and pulled it off each other as if
play fighting. NB then took the infant and sat with it. NB then threatened KT who tried to
approach; KT ran screaming to FL [adult female]. FL was lying in thick undergrowth with a fresh
bleeding gash 2–3 inches long on her left upper arm. The infant was a male of approximately one
week old. It seems likely FL was the mother.Various other individuals then came close to NB and the infant to inspect it. After
a while FL approached sat 1.5 m from NB and the infant. FL attempted to come closer
but NB threatened her (bark and lunge) and FL screamed and did not try again. Later it
was noticed that BN (adult female) had a cut on her leg; she may have been involved in
the fracas but is not thought to have been the mother. The infant was recovered and
preserved in formalin in the camp museum. (Above notes taken from the BFP Events
Book. Observers were Katie Slocombe and Raimon Ogen, date 12 March 2004.)
The most well-known cases of infant killing by females are the cases of Passion and
her late-adolescent daughter Pom of the Kasakela community at Gombe Stream
National Park in Tanzania, described by Goodall (1968, 1977). At first considered
pathological, these have been reinterpreted as cases of female–female competition,
but they are truly extraordinary; in most cases it is thought that females would not run
the risks associated with such attacks in view of the rather marginal food benefits they
accrue from eliminating other female competitors. Evidently these Gombe females
were exceptional. In October and November 1976 they fiercely attacked two mothers,
Gilka and Melissa, also from the Kasakela community, killing and eating their three-
week old infants, one a male, the other a female. As Goodall writes: ‘Passion and Pom
attacked the mothers of their victims only in order to acquire the infants as meat. Once
they had possession of the babies, no further aggression was directed towards the
mothers. Indeed, when Melissa approached the killers, who were then eating her
infant, Passion reached out and embraced her’ (1986: 284).
Another case is that of a prolonged attack on a mother and her two-year-old daughter
resulting in the death of the infant in the Kanyawara community living in the Kibale
152 Infanticide