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Bonobo General InformationThe Bonobo is one of the last large mammals to be discovered. This ape was discovered in 1929 in a Belgian colonial museum. A German anatomist, Ernst Schwarz, was studying a skull that had been ascribed to a juvenile chimpanzee because of its small size, when he realized that it belonged to an adult. Schwarz declared that he had stumbled on a new subspecies of chimpanzee. But soon the animal was assigned the status of an entirely distinct species within the same genus as the chimpanzee, Pan. The Bonobo ape is sometimes called a Pygmy Chimp. They only live in one small and shrinking place, the swampy equatorial forests of the left bank of the Congo River. Bonobos are very complex apes and have very high levels of intelligence, emotionality, and sensitivity. Bonobos are in severe crisis. These apes, the bonobos, have fascinated indigenous people of Africa for hundreds, even thousands of years as they have legends about them However the "outside" world has only known of their existence since 1933. In fact in 1933 they were discovered from a skull in a museum and not from a live animal. bonobos have been studied in the wild and in captivity for about 25 years, since the mid-1970s. This makes this a relatively "new" animal to us. What a shame it is so near extinction when we know so very little about it. There are very distinct and interesting differences between the bonobos and other apes. We hope with this website you will learn about the bonobo as well as be prompted to continue that learning. We also hope that you will join your efforts with those whose are trying to support the preservation of this animal in the wild in their natural habitat. Physical Characteristics:Female Bonobos are usually smaller than the males are. The Bonobo, has long legs and small head and narrow shoulders. Bonobo lips are reddish in a black face, the ears small and the nostrils almost as wide as a gorilla's. These primates also have a flatter, more open face with a higher forehead than the chimpanzee's. The Bonobo also has long, fine, black hair neatly parted in the middle. A Bonobo's longevity is unknown, but judging by the chimpanzee it may be older than 40 in the wild and close to 60 in captivity. Bonobos walk upright somewhat more easily than the chimps can. Still, walking on all fours is less tiring for both bonobos and chimps. Average weight of the male is around 95 pounds and average weight of the female is around 82 pounds. Bonobos are two to three feet tall. Average weights for a bonobo ranges between 50 pounds and 135 pounds. Bonobo infants are born small and develop slower than other ape infants. Social Behavior:The species is best characterized as female-centered. Captive Bonobos use tools skillfully. Apparently as intelligent as chimpanzees, bonobos seem to have a far more sensitive temperament. In bonobo troops, the females are the 'rulers' and keep lifelong bonds with their sons. When a young female is old enough, she must leave the troop and find another one to join. She will breed with all the males in the new group, and she gains permanent membership when she gives birth. Adult females form strong bonds with each other. Bonobos are very imaginative in play. They play self made games that other apes play but seem to play them with much more dedication and diligence. Juvenile bonobos are extremely playful and often make funny faces, sometimes in long solitary pantomimes and at other times while tickling one another. The female-led troops tend to be relatively peaceful. Bonobos seem to be sensitive to each other’s needs. Bonobos are more controlled in expressing their emotions than chimpanzees are whether it be joy, sorrow, excitement or anger. The bonobos signal emotions and intentions through facial expressions and hand gestures. Bonobos have been observed to beg by stretching out an open hand (or, sometimes, a foot) to another bonobo that has food and will pout their lips and make whimpering sounds if the effort is unsuccessful Bonobo communities are peace-loving. The strongest social bonds are those among females, although females also bond with males. The status of a male depends on the position of his mother, to whom he remains closely bonded for her entire life. Bonobos live in groups of up to 100, breaking up into foraging groups by day and gathering to nest at night. When bonobos gather in the trees to make their night nests, they fill the twilight with a symphony of soprano squeals. Their high-pitched vocalizations sound like a flock of exotic birds, compared to the more gutteral hoots of chimpanzees. In the wild it is hard to find bonobos because they are afraid of people. Bonobos and chimpanzees have a variety of facial expressions to communicate and show mood. Scientific studies also reveal that bonobos have a sense of self (they recognize themselves in a mirror). Only apes have shown this ability. Bonobos use touch to give reassurance and comfort to each other. They form close relationships with other members of the troop, even after they are grown. Bonobos use leaves and twigs to build sturdy nests in the forks of trees each evening. By all sleeping in the same area they can help each other look out for predators. Reproduction:A female gives birth to a single infant at intervals of between five and six years. Like chimpanzees, female Bonobos nurse and carry around their young for up to five years. By the age of seven the offspring reach adolescence. Wild females give birth for the first time at 13 or 14 years of age, becoming full grown by about 15. Bonobo infants are born small and develop slower than other ape infants. The average gestation period is 244 days or eight months. Weight at birth is about two and a half pounds. Infants are born almost helpless and must be carried everywhere by their mothers for the first two years. Youngsters remain close to their mothers for several years. Habitat:The Bonobo is found in humid tropical forests south of the Zaire River, where perhaps fewer than 3,000 Bonobos still survive today. Since they reproduce so slowly and the rapid destruction of their home in the wild their survival is in great dangers. Also the political instability of Central Africa creates even more dangers for their survival. The wild bonobo population is so fragmented now in the Congo, with small groups living in isolated pockets, that the sustainability of the species is severely threatened. Bonobos spend a lot of time high in the rainforest canopy. These acrobatic apes move through the trees swiftly and gracefully, maneuvering through the forest to forage on fruit and other foods. They also travel on the ground, often single file along their own sort of trail system. They tend to like swampy areas, where sometimes they dig for grubs or small crustaceans. Bonobos have complex “mind maps” of the forest and coordinate travel through vocalizations and other forms of communication people do not yet understand. Diet:Fruit is central to the diets of both wild bonobos and chimpanzees. The bobnobos however eat more pith from herbaceous plants, and the chimpanzees eat more meat. Although bonobos do eat invertebrates and occasionally capture and eat small vertebrates, including mammals, their diet seems to contain relatively little animal protein. Unlike chimpanzees, bonobos not been observed to hunt monkeys. Unlike chimpanzees who form hunting parties to capture monkeys, bonobos do not aggressively hunt mammals. Bonobos eat a variety of foods, including fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, vegetation, and mushrooms. They eat various parts of plants, including the leaves, flowers, bark, stems, pith, and roots. They also eat small mammals, insect larvae, earthworms, honey, eggs, and soil. Bonobos are not as afraid of water as Chimpanzees are. in fact bonobos even "fish" for shrimp. Dangers:Bonobos are the rarest of all great ape species. Shortly after they were discovered it was believed there were 100,000. Now just on generation later there is only about 3,00 left alive. That is an extremely fast decline. Their survival in the wild is very unsure. Please, won't you get involved SOON!!! Bonobos are in severe crisis. Their populations are found only in one place in the wild. Those in the wild are split up in small pockets. They can't move back and forth among the different populations for breeding. The bonobos only have one baby every five to six years. Their habitat is rapidly being destroyed and not replaced. Also sadly these fascinating apes are being hunted for sport and meat. Bushmeat hunters kill entire families and sometimes keep a baby to sell as a pet. As slowly as these apes reproduce the thought of entire troops being killed at once is horrifying. It is illegal to kill or capture bonobos in the DRC, but in many places people and authorities are ignorant of the laws or there is no enforcement. BCI is working closely with local authorities and Congolese NGOs to support improved enforcement and education in the region. It is estimated that each year, 1 million metric tons of bushmeat is killed in the Congo River Basin in Central Africa. In some areas, industrial scale hunting is occurring, with river rafts and trucks laden with primate, elephant and other carcasses moving in constant caravans to satisfy the hunger for bushmeat. In many areas bushmeat hunting provides the major source of revenue to many people. Bonobos are considered the most endangered of the great apes.
Differences between Bonobos and Chimpanzees:1. Bonobos are sensitive, lively and nervous, whereas chimpanzees are
course and hot tempered. Chimps resolve sex issues with power; bonobos resolve power issues with sex. Bonobos believe in "make love, not war." Chimps are known for making war. Physically, bonobos are smaller, darker, hairier around the face, and more erect than chimps.
The population in captivity is so small that there isn't a large enough gene pool for much genetic diversity. There are two programs that coordinate breeding efforts: the Species Survival Plan in North America and the European Endangered Species Programme.
Studies on bonobos started much later than on the other ape species and fewer people were involved in them," de Waal points out. "So as a result, we knew less about them. The chimpanzee has been known for centuries, but the bonobo has been set apart from the chimpanzee only since the 1930s." Add to that the fact that their remote habitat in a politically unstable part of Africa makes it doubly difficult to study them in the field.
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