Charlotte T. Best: Beasty boys

Republicans are not baboons and vice versa, but the temptation to share a description of competing behavior among males in a Ugandan baboon troop after the “resignation” of the long-term dominant male is just too precious to resist.

Neuroscientist Robert M. Sapolsky in his book “A Primate Memoir” detailing his many years of observation of the troop, gives this account of the political and social instability resulting from the overthrow of the old patriarch Saul: “Chaos reigned. Everyone was scheming, spending hours forming coalitional partnerships that would collapse within minutes of the first test. ... The number of fights went through the roof, as did the rate of injuries. Nobody ate much, nobody was grooming, sex was forgotten. Public works projects were halted and mail service became unreliable.”

So it goes.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Charlotte T. Best: Beasty boys."