Australian researcher Vanessa Woods studies the co-operative nature of bonobos in a wildlife sanctuary in the DRC (smh.com.au). Bonobos are humankind's closest relatives -- so much so that humans may be classified asanother kind of great ape except for the fact that we we are defining the classification -- yet most people do not know they exist! Bonobos were last great ape species to be discovered. And they could be the first to go extinct if we do not act quickly to save them and their rainforest home.
They only live in one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). Bonobos stand apart from the other great apes in fascinating and important ways. But perhaps the most compelling aspect of bonobos is their society based on sex rather than war... More>>
Make Love, Not War
“Bonobos share 99 percent of their DNA with humans, more than any other primate, and bonobos are much nearer to us in physiognomy than chimpanzees. Unlike chimps, bonobos have broad shoulders and torsos that are proportioned much like humans. Bonobos can and often do walk upright with a human-like gait.”
“There are less than 150 bonobos in zoos and 10,000 at most in the wild. Due to the civil war and breakdown of communications in the large area of jungle between the Congo and Kasai rivers that the bonobos inhabit, their actual numbers are not known, but it is feared that their numbers have been greatly reduced by the trade in ‘bush meat’...”
“Bonobos also have other human attributes... Unlike other primates, humans and bonobos have separated sex from its reproductive function, and use it as a medium of exchange. Sexual transactions in humans are to obtain something for the individual who grants the favor, whereas bonobos use sex to defuse social tensions, to maintain a peaceful community.”
“Bonobos not only want peace within their communities, they want peace with other bonobo communities and with all the world. Humans, like chimpanzees, murder their neighbors to expand their territory, kill females and infants in genocide, batter their own females into submission, and commit rape. Chimpanzees hunt for meat and even commit cannibalism within their own social group.”
“Bonobos [do] the exact opposite, live in female managed societies where violence is not tolerated, where rape and infanticide do not exist, where other species are not killed, and where a wide variety of enjoyable sexual activities are used to enhance friendships and to resolve conflicts.”
“[N]otice that female bonobos, like human women, have large breasts that are not functionally necessary for nursing, but serve for sexual attraction. Like human females, the genitalia of female bonobos are in the front, for face to face copulation, which makes humans and bonobos unique among the primates.” More>>
Conservation Saves Lives
The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) is dedicated to ensuring the survival of the bonobo (Pan paniscus) and its tropical forest habitat in the Congo Basin. By working nationally, internationally, and with indigenous Congolese people through cooperative conservation and community development programs, BCI is establishing new protected areas and leading efforts to safeguard bonobos wherever they are found. More>>- BCI has a new brochure filled with information and photos about work in the Congo.
- Adopt a Bonobo. Make a difference by giving the gift of bonobo conservation today. Adoption, for yourself or as a gift, will help BCI continue its work to save the bonobos. Adoption directly supports efforts to create new protected areas, rescuing bonobos that have been orphaned or captured, and supporting dedicated rangers and monitoring teams.
- Congo Challenge Grant: Double the impact of gifts to BCI by participating in the Congo Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar match for donations. More>>
