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9

fact, d

uring the American Civil War, relatives squaring off on opposite

sides did not protect those who shared their genes, they threatened to

destroy them.

Even more damning, women in a murderous frame of mind

usually do away with their own children.19   Says researcher Donald T.

Lunde, "...almost all infants who are killed are killed by their moth-

ers."20 These mothers wipe out the very offspring who would carry

their genes into the next generation.  (The next favorite target of

married women is their husband or lover.) And these grim facts of life

are not restricted to the United States.  Murderers in the USSR, Hong

Kong and Britain also show a predilection for killing those who share

their genes.21

Kin selectionists have had a difficult time explaining yet another

mystery: why among some social animals a few members of the herd

will stand up and shriek when a predator approaches, even at the risk

of making themselves obvious to the predator and becoming his first

meal.

A herd of Thompson's gazelles is grazing quietly in an open East

African field.  A hungry leopard approaches quietly from downwind,

holding its body low in the tall grass.  Suddenly a gazelle raises her

head, cocks her ear, and freezes.  A snapping sound has aroused her

suspicions.  Looking around, she spots the silhouette of the leopard's

head.  What does she do?  To enhance her own survival and that of her

genes, her best strategy would be to move to the center of the herd,

making herself as unobtrusive as possible.  The leopard would then

pick off some unsuspecting and unrelated creature on the herd's

periphery.  The gazelle's worst approach, on the other hand, would be

to draw attention.  Research shows that predators almost invariably go

for a herd animal that is acting different from the rest.22

But the gazelle who has just spotted the clawed creature does not

quietly blend into the bunch. She breaks into a strange run punctuated

by abrupt jumps into the air.  Her behavior alerts her herd-mates to the

prowling cat.  One after another, they join the running and jumping.

9

fact, d

uring the American Civil War, relatives squaring off on opposite

sides did not protect those who shared their genes, they threatened to

destroy them.

Even more damning, women in a murderous frame of mind

usually do away with their own children.19   Says researcher Donald T.

Lunde, "...almost all infants who are killed are killed by their moth-

ers."20 These mothers wipe out the very offspring who would carry

their genes into the next generation.  (The next favorite target of

married women is their husband or lover.) And these grim facts of life

are not restricted to the United States.  Murderers in the USSR, Hong

Kong and Britain also show a predilection for killing those who share

their genes.21

Kin selectionists have had a difficult time explaining yet another

mystery: why among some social animals a few members of the herd

will stand up and shriek when a predator approaches, even at the risk

of making themselves obvious to the predator and becoming his first

meal.

A herd of Thompson's gazelles is grazing quietly in an open East

African field.  A hungry leopard approaches quietly from downwind,

holding its body low in the tall grass.  Suddenly a gazelle raises her

head, cocks her ear, and freezes.  A snapping sound has aroused her

suspicions.  Looking around, she spots the silhouette of the leopard's

head.  What does she do?  To enhance her own survival and that of her

genes, her best strategy would be to move to the center of the herd,

making herself as unobtrusive as possible.  The leopard would then

pick off some unsuspecting and unrelated creature on the herd's

periphery.  The gazelle's worst approach, on the other hand, would be

to draw attention.  Research shows that predators almost invariably go

for a herd animal that is acting different from the rest.22

But the gazelle who has just spotted the clawed creature does not

quietly blend into the bunch. She breaks into a strange run punctuated

by abrupt jumps into the air.  Her behavior alerts her herd-mates to the

prowling cat.  One after another, they join the running and jumping.