The Trouble with Testosterone by Robert M. Sapolsky

Author:Robert M. Sapolsky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner

The Graying of the Troop

Bill Martin, Transitions, 1978; courtesy Joseph Chowning Gallery, San Francisco

It was one of those days when all his joints ached. The rains had started, and the humidity inflamed his hips and knees, especially the one he had injured long ago in his youth. He hobbled across the field, off to find something to eat and then, perhaps, to sit with a friend. Foraging for palatable food had grown more difficult as he lost more of his teeth—sometimes he spent half the day trying to appease his hunger. He paused for a moment, a bit disoriented, briefly unsure of his direction. When he was young, he had sprinted and chased and wrestled with his friends in this field.

As he resumed on the path, the two of them emerged from behind a tree, coming toward him. He tensed. They were new to the area, strangers, but not quiet like new ones usually were. Instead they were confident, making trouble for everyone. They worked together. Maybe they were brothers.

He was frightened, breathing faster. He hesitated for an instant to scratch nervously at a sudden itch on his shoulder. He glanced down, making no eye contact, as they approached, and felt a swelling of relief as they passed him. It was shortlived, as they suddenly spun around. The nearest one shoved him hard. He tried to brace himself with his bad leg but it simply wasn’t strong enough, and it buckled under him. He shrieked in fear. They leapt on him, he saw a flash of something sharp, and, in a spasm of pain, felt himself cut, slashed across his cheek and then from behind, on his back. It was over in a second and, as they ran off, leaving him on the ground, the second one yanked painfully on his tail.

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