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Two adult male baboons fighting at very close range.
Two adult male baboons fighting at very close range. The one on the left is giving a threat by staring and raising his eyebrows, perhaps also slapping the ground; the one on the right exhibits a classic fear grimace, perhaps accompanied by a scream. Such a grimace also bares the male's teeth, reinforcing the reality that even a lower-ranking male can inflict debilitating, potentially lethal damage in a contact fight. Each male seems to be both lunging and pulling back from an attack, exhibiting the common ambivalence about actually engaging in physical combat that has the potential to lead to puncture wounds.
Credit: Jeanne Altmann, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Dept., Princeton University
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