Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 9 January 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.12
News
Grooming your way to the top
Nice chimps can be leader of the pack.
Among most mammals, being the biggest and meanest is the only way to become the alpha male with a choice of mates. But in chimpanzee society, it seems that being nice can be just as powerful.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
The observation is interesting, but one needs to wonder how valid the human interpretation of primate emotion and intention would be, particularly when it is based on the observation of a single individual for each category.