In recent weeks the aggressive encounters between Frodo and Patrick have become more frequent. One reason for this is the presence of Lome. Lome is a sub-adult male, now approaching his tenth birthday. He isn't yet fully-grown, and his calm demeanour means that he rarely behaves aggressively towards others. Nonetheless, he's becoming large enough that he can contribute a useful amount of muscle to any conflict into which he's drawn - at least to fend off adult females, if not any of the adult males. Unfortunately for Frodo, Lome is also Patrick's brother.
While all of the younger chimps in the group (aside from Swela) were sired by Robert - making all of the males half-brothers - Patrick, Lome and Lobo all share Corrie as a mother. Although the effects of this aren't always obvious, it means that they have closer bonds than the other males; and these have been enhanced by a history of grooming and playing together. Now that Lome is coming of age, his closeness to Patrick is becoming a threat to Frodo on account of the natural allegiance that they share.
The emergence of Lome has left Frodo isolated and vulnerable. About a month ago, Patrick tore a chunk out of his foot, leaving him unable to defend himself properly. As a consequence, Frodo was forced, for the first time, to back down from a number fights with Patrick. If this situation persists, he will lose his dominant position in the group, and the access to women that this dominance brings.
In order to shore up his own position Frodo has started looking for new allies. This is why he and Robert have been grooming so intently: by recruiting the retired alpha as a support, perhaps in return for some limited access to females, Frodo can protect himself from the challenge presented by Patrick and Lome. This is also why, in the previous post, Frodo was so infuriated by Patrick's breaking up his bonding session with Robert: it's only by cultivating that relationship that Frodo's position in the group will be secure.
This is particularly true since Patrick also enjoys the support of the majority of the females in the group, who still remember the beatings Frodo dished out to them two years ago when he was trying to assert his own authority of the then-dominant Robert.
While all of the younger chimps in the group (aside from Swela) were sired by Robert - making all of the males half-brothers - Patrick, Lome and Lobo all share Corrie as a mother. Although the effects of this aren't always obvious, it means that they have closer bonds than the other males; and these have been enhanced by a history of grooming and playing together. Now that Lome is coming of age, his closeness to Patrick is becoming a threat to Frodo on account of the natural allegiance that they share.
The emergence of Lome has left Frodo isolated and vulnerable. About a month ago, Patrick tore a chunk out of his foot, leaving him unable to defend himself properly. As a consequence, Frodo was forced, for the first time, to back down from a number fights with Patrick. If this situation persists, he will lose his dominant position in the group, and the access to women that this dominance brings.
In order to shore up his own position Frodo has started looking for new allies. This is why he and Robert have been grooming so intently: by recruiting the retired alpha as a support, perhaps in return for some limited access to females, Frodo can protect himself from the challenge presented by Patrick and Lome. This is also why, in the previous post, Frodo was so infuriated by Patrick's breaking up his bonding session with Robert: it's only by cultivating that relationship that Frodo's position in the group will be secure.
This is particularly true since Patrick also enjoys the support of the majority of the females in the group, who still remember the beatings Frodo dished out to them two years ago when he was trying to assert his own authority of the then-dominant Robert.
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