ABSTRACT
Many studies show that the nature and extent of an animal's aggressive behaviour can be much influenced by environmental factors during development, and this further study of the ontogeny of aggression seems likely to be most fruitful. In man co-operative aggressiveness, such as war, is primarily a male function whereas no well-documented case of a culture where women were the warriors, or the hunters of large animals, is known. Modern work on the gorilla, in this case by a young American, Miss Dian Fossey, is yielding comparable results. In the popular mind the gorilla epitomises terrifying ferocity and uninhibited aggressiveness. Lorenz regards aggression as spontaneous and inevitably finding expression in violence, independently of external stimulation. The breeding territory of birds, in the typical case, consists of an area surrounding the nest site from which all other members of the species, except the mate, are excluded by aggressive displays, e.g., by formalised postures and movements and by song.
