one of nishida's first discoveries was truly groundbreaking. while science still described the chimpanzee as a peaceful vegetarian that roamed the forest without any need for social bonds - not unlike rousseau's noble savages - nishida had noticed that chimpanzees live a communal life with territorial boundaries and perhaps even hostility between neighbouring unit-groups. this was not an easy discovery, because chimpanzees are often encountered alone or in small groups in the forest. one can determine community relations only if one recognizes all individuals and keeps careful track of their travels. nishida's discovery upset not only western notions of chimpanzees as individualists, but also the expectations of his japanese mentors who thought chimpanzees would live, like humans, in nuclear family-like arrangements. debate about what to expect must have been heated, because when nishida's teacher itani arrived in kigoma, the student couldn't wait for their physical reunion to shout from aboard the steamship liemba: ""there is no familoid in the chimpanzee society."" itani-sensei shouted back, ""that can't be true!""