rabbit's eye-view:




One lemur tribe is about to encounter another lemur tribe on a trail in Madagascar. The narrator of the tv show talks about it's ‘war!’ and the ‘fighting’ and who will win 'the battle'. But if you watch the lemurs in action, it looks more like an athletic event: flying leaps, a little light-contact sparring, a couple of nips that may not even connect, and that's it. Striped tails waving. No harm done. Brief and invigorating. One tribe retreats and lets the ‘winning’ tribe have the trail for now. Less like war, more like a neighborhood game of touch football.

The skirmish seems to be a sharp-edged communication about respecting boundaries, temporary control of turf. Nothing personal. No pouting, no escalation, few hard feelings. No self-flagellation by the biters for possibly hurting fellow lemurs. No holding onto tension, letting resentment build. Good sports.