Agonistic Behavior

Conflict is very common in the animal kingdom. In many cases conflict between animals is resolved by actual fighting, but there are also many examples of fighting, some of which end up in the death of the opponent. From observations of animal conflict it is clear that some circumstances are more conductive to fighting than others. Animals do not always fight when given the opportunity and some individuals vary in the readiness with which they resort to fighting. Such differences in agonistic behavior often reflect an animal′s chance of winning or getting injured and the importance of the issue concerned. The benefits of fighting are quite obvious in many cases. The winner can gain exclusive use of a resource such as a food source or may