Usually, when we think of war, we imagine only humans having the intellectual capacity to wage warfare on each other. But war, the one thing that we thought separated us from other species, is found in another species: chimpanzees. Dr. Jane Goodall witnessed a chimpanzee tribe that waged war against another tribe. Besides our DNA being 98.8 percent similar to chimpanzees, our traits are also very similar. War is one of them.

The war was called the Gombe Chimpanzee War and it was observed by Dr. Jane Goodall. She was at the Gombe Stream National Park in Tarazia in the 1970s where she observed a war by chimpanzees who were once in the same tribe but split due to a power struggle. 

It started with a tribe that Dr. Goodall named Kasekela. They were once a united tribe until 1971 when their leader died. Chimpanzees have a very strong hierarchy with the one on top being the leader. The leader would keep the peace by controlling disputes, controlling resources like food, and most importantly getting the first pick with all the females of the group which means they have the most offspring. After the leader died, subgroups, or cliques, started to form to see who would become the next leader and what the next steps were. Chimpanzees, just like humans, only wanted to have a connection with the strongest and fittest ones. The cliques formed based on connections. Soon the Kasekela was split into Northern and Southern groups. The South group was named Kahama and the North group stayed as the Kasekela. Soon a border was created between the two groups, and no fight was indicated for a while but tensions continued to grow. Then in 1974 Kasekela males ambushed a Kahama male while he was eating fruit, then that male was left to die. Over the next four years, the Kahama's males were killed off in similar matters, they were ambushed and left to die. After one successful kill, the males from the Kasekela drummed on tree trunks, hurdled rocks, and threw branches while crying out - almost as a celebration, something very similar to what humans do - celebrate. Soon all the original Kahama were either killed by the Kasekela or left the region, probably in fear of being killed. The war ended in 1978 with the Kasekela group winning and expanding their territory.

War isn't the only thing that chimpanzees share with us humans. Tools, a thing that was thought that only humans have the intellectual capacity to use, are found in chimpanzees' daily lives too. Dr. Jane Goodall witnessed a chimp use a branch to get ants from an ant colony. The usage of tools was one of the traits that confirmed that chimpanzees are similar to us humans. War and tools are just some examples that prove how similar chimpanzees are to us. From our traits to our DNA, chimpanzees are very close relatives to us. And who knows, there might be more characteristics that make us even more similar?