A new study reveals that male chimpanzees' aggressive behavior towards females could actually be a method of establishing successful mating.

The findings were based on a long-term study of interactions between chimpanzees in the famous Gombe National Park in Tanzania.

The study suggests the aggressive behavior of male chimps is adaptive. Researchers examined the DNA obtained from chimps' fecal matter to determine the paternity of 31 infant chimpanzees born during the study. They observed the baby chimps for 17 years.

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The result indicated that the rate of male chimps' aggression towards females increased the pair's mating frequency and increased the chance of pregnancy. This aggression. However, wasn't used to force sexual encounters and didn't occur directly before or after mating.

The male chimps' behavior was particularly effective for high-ranking animals in the chimpanzee hierarchy. Those that continued to violently dominate females, even when they weren't in the mating part of their cycle, mated more often.

"These results seem to suggest that males are selected to be aggressive toward females to increase their paternity success, which explains why male-female aggression is observed in so many chimpanzee populations," said first author Joseph Feldblum of Duke University.

Feldblum said further study is needed to find out if male chimps will be as successful in paternity when using kinder and gentler ways towards their female counterparts.

Chimpanzees are considered the closest living relatives of human beings.

The new study may lead some people to think it has an impact in understanding human behavior.

Tagsmale chimps, Male Chimpanzees, chimpanzees, Chimpanzees aggression, animal mating, mating, paternity, sexual aggression, animal kingdom