Scientists have revealed that certain members in a chimpanzee group act as an impartial “police” to mediate conflicts and preserve peace, Science Daily and livescience.com reported Wednesday.

Animal groups handle conflicts in a variety of ways, but the arbiters in chimps, gorillas, orangutans and other primate group were neither biased nor aggressive. The arbiters did not support allies or punish wrongdoers.

Primatologists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland analyzed four different chimpanzee groups for nearly 600 hours over two years.

During this period, introduction of new females caused rift within the group, causing power struggle.

Scientists monitored the social interactions and conflicts and found that certain individuals, usually a high-ranking male or female, acted as peacemakers.

The researchers initially thought that high ranking “police” members wanted to keep themselves dominant or sought to prevent potential mates from leaving the group.

In order for this hypothesis to be true, however, all policing apes needed to be males, for female chimps to not fight over ranks and female members are the most likely to leave the group. In contrast, found policing behavior was found in both sexes.

Also the arbitrators were more likely to intervene when conflict within the group was larger and more members of the group were involved.

This caused scientists to believe the motivation for police chimps is the stability of group. Resolving quarrel tend to lead to healthy living environment for the primates.

"The interest in community concern that is highly developed in us humans and forms the basis for our moral behavior is deeply rooted. It can also be observed in our closest relatives," explained Claudia Rudolf von Rohr, the lead author of the study.