Skip to main contentWorld ViewPublished: 21 September 2026John C. Mitani ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7042-58541,2 Nature Human Behaviour (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved researchSeeing a deadly ‘civil war’ unfold among chimpanzees has been a painful experience for John Mitani. His decades of watching wild great apes now evoke his family’s experience with xenophobia. But to him, the war highlights what makes humans unique: not our conflicts, but our unparalleled capacity for tolerance and cooperation.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institutionAccess options Access through your institutionAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 12 digital issues and online access to articles118,99 € per yearonly 9,92 € per issueLearn moreBuy this articlePurchase on SpringerLinkInstant access to the full article PDF.39,95 €Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutSubjectsAnimal behaviourBiological anthropologyReferencesWood, B. M., Watts, D. P., Mitani, J. C. & Langergraber, K. E. J. Hum. Evol. 105, 41–56 (2017).Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Wood, B. M., Watts, D. P., Langergraber, K. E. & Mitani, J. C. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 122, e2524502122 (2025).Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Sandel, A. A. et al. Science 392, 216–220 (2026).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Wilson, M. L. et al. Nature 513, 414–417 (2014).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Gareta García, M. et al. Sci. Rep. 16, 9550 (2026).Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Samuni, L. & Surbeck, M. Science 382, 805–809 (2023).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Bowles, S. & Gintis, H. A Cooperative Species: Human Reciprocity and Its Evolution (Princeton Univ. Press, 2011).Download referencesAuthor informationAuthors and AffiliationsDepartment of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USAJohn C. MitaniNgogo Chimpanzee Project, Phoenix, AZ, USAJohn C. MitaniAuthorsJohn C. MitaniView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to John C. Mitani.Ethics declarationsRights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article