The nose is also heavily utilized during competitive encounters and aggressive displays between males, serving as a dynamic element of threat posturing. During these confrontations, males will often flatten or compress their noses, a visual gesture that may be intended to heighten the impact of their accompanying vocalizations or simply to exaggerate their facial features. This ritualized behavior allows males to size each other up, minimizing the need for costly physical fights and instead relying on exaggerated displays of size, sound, and visual threat to resolve conflicts over social status and group control.
