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Conflict resolution in nature -and they say humans are superior life forms! 

Grace Dickinson | 18th October 2008

When Sebastian asked me to write a small piece on conflict resolution in the animal kingdom my first thought was, blimey, that’s going to be a tough one, since there is no conflict resolution in nature, it’s all about conflict prevention. Animals understand that conflict can result in physical injury and physical injury can quickly lead to death via infections or inability to find food or fend for themselves. 

Animals know that prevention is better than cure. Red deer stags for example, when fighting for mating rights over a harem of females, only lock antlers and wrestle as a very last resort (the losing animal frequently succumbs to death from exhaustion and or injury)- instead roaring competitions between rivals take place to determine who is the strongest competitor. If the animals are equally matched, then a slow motion waltz occurs, the stags pacing along side each other to gauge the opponents’ size and strength. Ring tailed lemurs have formidable canine teeth but work out their differences with stink fights, dousing their tails with scent from glands in their wrists, and perform tree top tail swinging displays used to waft chemical messages in the direction of their opponent to assert dominance or defend territory.  

Gorillas show sexual dimorphism [the sexes are visually distinguishable]- like the red deer, males rely on physical size and strength to keep rival males at bay, win rights over females and thus assure paternity of their offspring, whereas chimpanzees compete in a less obvious way. There is no sexual dimorphism seen in chimps, males and females are similar in body size, and their mating habits are promiscuous. Thus the males attempt to ensure paternity certainty via sperm competition, mating with as many females as often as possible to flood out their rivals attempts. 

Conflict prevention isn’t always behavioural however, just look at Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos islands, evolving through natural selection, different shaped beaks designed to specialise in different food stuffs, reducing competition for food and allowing more species to flourish. <More>