Bonobo
Introductions
I am Dominique, a bonobo matriarch. This means I’m the leader of my troop. Many people have never heard of us and those that have typically only know about our amorous escapades. But we’re so much more than that! We are playful, gregarious, and happy within our tight social networks. We also have a special knack for navigating complex social networks, including with bonobos we’re just meeting.
In bonobo society, females rule the roost. We may be smaller in stature, but we band together in coalitions to keep the boys in line. We collectively prevent males from getting aggressive with one of us gals or another member of the group. This puts me in the perfect position to help you understand our world.
Fast Facts
Where We Live
We live in forests south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
IUCN Status
Endangered, primarily due to:
- Poaching
- Habitat loss and fragmentation
- Civil unrest in Congo
- Infectious disease
Celebrity Bonobo
Kanzi, who holds the record for the animal that has learned the most human vocabulary at 500 lexigrams and 3,000 spoken words. Kanzi can ask for and make a fire to roast marshmallows and enjoys inviting friends to join him in his favorite game of Pacman. He resides in Des Moines, Iowa. To learn more, check out Kanzi’s Wikipedia page or watch this Kanzi video.
World Bonobo Day is February 14!
Fun Fact
We share 98.7% of our DNA with you, making us your closest relative with chimpanzees a very close second.
Bonobo Social Structure
We live in troops that include unrelated females, their sons and younger daughters, and unrelated adult males. There are 25 of us in my troop. While our hierarchy is relatively fluid, we are led by an older female. (That’s me for my family!). Our matriarchal dynamic allows us to live in one of the most peaceful, socially tolerant societies on earth
We move locations regularly and don’t live in defined territories. As a result, we sometimes encounter other troops in our daily travels. On rare occasions, the two groups avoid each other. But typically, we can’t help but voice our excitement as we approach the new bonobos. We females take the lead and begin to groom members of the new community. Males follow suit. The two groups may stay together for the next few days or even weeks. When we separate, we stay with our original group.
We Love Meeting New Bonobos.
Our affinity for meeting new bonobos is an automatic response. (In contrast, humans and chimpanzees demonstrate an involuntary negative response when you hear someone you don’t know.) Our ability to tolerate and want to spend time with all other bonobos is a unique quality indeed!
Growing Up Bonobo
In the Beginning
I was born looking every bit like a miniature, 2-pound (1 kilogram) bonobo with one distinction: a crop of white fur on my tush. Other bonobos knew this meant I was a youngster and got to do what I wanted because we little ones sort of run the show! All troop members are very kind to us. Check out baby bonobos and orphaned baby bonobos that have been rescued and will be returned to the wild when they’re old enough.
Despite being in a power position, I was relatively helpless for my first few months. Mom carried me everywhere. I began gradually venturing away, though. By six months, I would sit 3 feet (1 meter) apart from her and by 10 months, I was wandering up to 13 feet (4 meters) away from her. (OK, so it was a very gradual separation!). By the time I was a year old, I learned to walk on my four knuckles.
My lifelong fascination with playing started when I turned two years old. I liked making funny faces and playing king of the mountain with my friends. And sometimes, just for fun, I’d cover my eyes with my hands and then run around chasing them. Even if I started playing with just one friend, others often joined in the fun. Before long, the whole troop got engaged.
By age three years, I could steadily walk just like the adult bonobos, although I always remained within 33 feet (10 meters) of Mom. I had also graduated to riding on her back rather than being carried like a baby. Even though I was getting older, I knew Mom still had a lot to teach me like how to climb trees and take care of younger bonobos.
Gaining Independence
I was four years old when Mom cut me off from the milk bar and I gradually began separating from her over the next year. But lest you think I was too adult, I must admit that I’d still sometimes have tantrums when I didn’t get my way.
When I was six, I dispersed to a new troop. It happened one time when my family spent a few weeks with another troop. I started bonding with their members and when it was time for our two troops to separate, I moved on with the new troop. Right away, I bonded with the mature females of my new family, and they protected me for my efforts.
Social Cues
As we grow up, we learn to observe other bonobos for social cues. By watching the other’s eyes, we can gage what they are experiencing. We are especially riveted by other bonobos yawning, grooming, or engaging in amorous activities.
Adulting, Bonobo Style
Life was good with my new troop, and I quickly learned everyone’s social cues. I still saw the family I’d grown up with on occasions when the two groups intermingled. I also met my best friend, Sephora, who joined the troop shortly after I did. As I rose in the ranks, Sephora was always there supporting me and still does as my second in command.
Childrearing
I had my first child when I was 13, a daughter named Grace. Sephora and the other females in my troop assisted me when I gave birth. While I’m the primary caretaker for my babies, Sephora and my other friends helped me. I know my relatives would step in if something happened to me, like when one of the older females in our troop died. She had a little one named Hugo, and his big brother Apollo stepped in to serve as his surrogate mother. Apollo carried Hugo everywhere and shared his nest and food. Bonobo babies need this high level of attention to feel safe.
Grace now lives with another troop, and I have a young son named Beni. As a male, he will remain in our troop for the rest of his life. To communicate with him, I start with a gaze and then we gesture as rapidly as you would in a human conversation. When he grows up, he will enjoy relatively high standing for a male because I am the matriarch. And as he gets older, I’ll help him out with the ladies.
Using Social Cues
Because I am so attuned to social cues, I notice when another bonobo is upset. For instance, sometimes when a male gets too big for his britches, the female coalition puts him in line with a little discipline. But things quickly shift back to our usual peaceful living arrangements as other group members soothe him with touch, including licking and grooming him.
We are also very tender with group members who have been injured, for instance when we sometimes get caught in a snare. When we can figure out how, we will even remove the snare. Otherwise, we tenderly help them manage their wound. We also help groupmates when they become elderly.
We typically live 20 to 40 years in the wild. When a groupmate dies, we have a level of comprehension of what this means. We may try to gently shake them to wake them. When that fails, the entire group will yelp and scream in response. After that emotional release, we return to our normal routines.
Bonobo Sensitivity
We remain this sensitive for our entire lives. In one sad incident during World War II, all the bonobos in a German zoo died of stress when Allies bombed nearby. Other animals, like chimpanzees, were fine.
Bonobo Comms
To communicate with my friends, I usually vocalize. It’s easier since we’re not always in front of each other. I may hoot, peep, bark, grunt, pant laugh, pout moan or scream. Each call has a precise meaning, so my friends understand if I’m expressing alarm, anger, or excitement. When we’re together, I may also gesture to my friends to communicate.
Helping Others
We’re good at understanding when others need our help. One bonobo named Kuni saw a bird fly into something and tried to help it fly by tossing it in the air. When that didn’t work, she watched over the bird until it was able to fly on its own. Another bonobo named Kakowet lives at the San Diego Zoo. One time he saw that some smaller bonobos were playing in an empty moat that their caretakers were starting to fill. He waved his arms and screamed until he alerted the keepers to the unfolding disaster. He saved lives that day!
A Typical Day for Me as an Adult
Mornings
In the early morning around 6 a.m., I set out with a party of six friends to forage for food. Sephora is with a group that travels on the ground by walking on their knuckles. My foraging party, on the other paw, sets off swinging through the trees. We’re all looking for ripe fruit to eat. I supplement whatever is in season with honey, leaves, eggs, and a special delicacy — caterpillars! On rare occasions, I may consume a small mammal such as a flying squirrel. I eat until I’m sated and then, sometimes, I fashion a toothpick out of twigs.
When I find something to eat, I alert my friends with a food call. Because they know my food preferences, they can interpret the call to know what I’ve found. I share with my friends, even though they can get food for themselves. They ask me by reaching out their arm towards my food, and I usually acquiesce and allow them to take it.
While I get some moisture from the foods I eat, sometimes I need to gather water to drink. I can get pretty inventive and may use moss to sponge it from tree trunks.
Afternoons
While the better part of my morning is spent traveling and foraging, I like to rest when the temperatures hit their high point for the day. I take this time to groom my friends, which helps us all relax. All of us still really like to play and have fun throughout the day, no matter how old we get! We may pirouette, spin, tickle, chase, or wrestle with one another. Even if I start playing with just one friend, others often join in the fun. As a bonus, playing helps reduce tensions in the group.
At other times during the day when I feel tense, I have sex to calm myself. I have a favorite male companion, but I may get passionate with either males or females in my group; the only potential partners that are off limits are my sons. Not only do these amorous escapades reduce tensions, but they also allow me to greet and bond with other bonobos and resolve conflicts.
Nights
Before nightfall, I’m back with my larger group. We forage again so we can go to sleep with full bellies. Every evening, we build new sleeping nests by placing leaves and twigs in the forks of trees. I get to sleep in the upper tree limbs with other females and young bonobos while males sleep in the lower branches. I may use foliage as a blanket to get cozy. During the rainy season, I may stay hunkered down in my nest to keep dry. I’ve also been known to use leaves to fashion myself a rain hat.
We’re Good at Sharing
When humans have studied us, they find that we will share food with other bonobos even if the other bonobo is unrelated, and hasn’t asked for assistance, even if it is to our detriment or if we ourselves don’t have access to the food. We’ll even help an unknown bonobo, and we prefer to share food with strangers over groupmates.
How You Can Help Us
We are impacted by some of the typical terrestrial threats. Local education is one key to protecting us since it cuts down on poaching. You can help us by supporting groups that educate nearby community of humans about how special we are. Preserving our forest home is also imperative and other groups help with that. We’re also very susceptible to human respiratory illnesses. The humans that live near us don’t have much in the way of health care, so investing in health care initiatives for rural Africa can help us too.
Returning the Favor
Since you’re learning about helping us out, we’d like to return the favor! Bonobos are unique in the way we respond to strangers. We view all other bonobos as potential friends. The next time you meet someone new, even if they don’t seem like you, try approaching them with openness and curiosity and see how it goes. We also highly recommend staying playful, no matter how old you are!
For more information on bonobos, check out this YouTube video or read The Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods. If you’d like to see them in person, there are limited zoos in the United States including the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, or the San Diego Zoo. Internationally, you can visit Belguim’s Zoo Planckendael, the UK’s Twycross Zoo, or the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Special thanks to Amy Porter, primatologist, for serving as an expert advisor on bonobos.
Ready to show off your bonobo bona fides?
Try our sample quiz questions
Want to keep showing the bonobos some love?
Try your paw at our quizzes!
Or join the discussion
References
Apenheul. (2024). Bonobo. https://apenheul.com/primates-abc/bonobo
BBC Earth Unplugged. (2019). CUTE! Ticklish Bonobo Can’t Stop Laughing. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb2sDQH91uc&t=13s
Bittel, J. (2023, December 18). A Bonobo Was Separated from Her Sister for 26 Years. She Still Remembers Her. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/chimpanzees-bonobos-recognition-memory-zoos?loggedin=true&rnd=1705709803676
Bonobo. (2024, February 2). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonobo
Cawthon Lang, K. (2010, December 1). Bonobo. Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. https://primate.wisc.edu/primate-info-net/pin-factsheets/pin-factsheet-bonobo/#behavior-sociality
Cheng, L., Samuni, L., Lucchesi, S., Deschner, T., & Surbeck, M. (2022). Love Thy Neighbour: Behavioural and Endocrine Correlates of Male Strategies During Intergroup Encounters in Bonobos. Animal Behaviour, 187, 319-330.
Clay, Z., & de Waal, F. B. (2013). Development of Socio-emotional Competence in Bonobos. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(45), 18121-18126.
Clay, Z., & Genty, E. (2017). Natural Communication in Bonobos: Insights Into Social Awareness and the Evolution of Language. Oxford University Press.
De Waal, F. (2013). The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates. W.W. Norton & Company.
Friends of Bonobos. (2023). Bonobo Group Returns to the Wild. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQLjyMFfCgc&t=17s
Friends of Bonobos. (2023). Story of Esake. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-J-V1iw4lY&t=1s
Friends of Bonobos. (2023). What’s a Bonobo? Peaceful, Endangered Great Ape, Pan paniscus | Friends of Bonobos
Fröhlich, M., Kuchenbuch, P., Müller, G., Fruth, B., Furuichi, T., Wittig, R. M., & Pika, S. (2016). Unpeeling the Layers of Language: Bonobos and Chimpanzees Engage in Cooperative Turn-taking Sequences. Scientific reports, 6(1), 25887.
Fruth, B., & Hohmann, G. (2018). Food Sharing Across Borders. Human Nature, 29(2), 91-103.
Furuichi, T. (2017). Female Contributions to the Peaceful Nature of Bonobo Society. In Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.
Furuichi, T. (2020). Variation in Intergroup Relationships Among Species and Among and Within Local Populations of African Apes. International Journal of Primatology, 41(2), 203-223.
Hare, B., Wobber, V., & Wrangham, R. (2012). The Self-Domestication Hypothesis: Evolution of Bonobo Psychology is Due to Selection Against Aggression. Animal Behaviour, 83(3), 573-585.
Hare, B., & Woods, V. (2017). Cognitive Comparisons of Genus Pan Support Bonobo Self-Domestication. In Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Bain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.
Herrmann, E., Hare, B., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2010). Differences in the Cognitive Skills of Bonobos and Chimpanzees. PloS one, 5(8), e12438.
Keenan, S., Mathevon, N., Stevens, J. M., Guéry, J. P., Zuberbühler, K., & Levréro, F. (2016). Enduring Voice Recognition in Bonobos. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 22046.
Kret, M. E., Jaasma, L., Bionda, T., & Wijnen, J. G. (2016). Bonobos (Pan paniscus) Show an Attentional Bias Toward Conspecifics’ Emotions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(14), 3761-3766.
Krupenye, C., & Hare, B. (2018). Bonobos Prefer Individuals That Hinder Others Over Those That Help. Current Biology, 28(2), 280-286.
National Geographic. (2014). Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Cute Bonobos. [Video]. You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN-Hj73ES2U
National Geographic. (2024). Bonobo. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/bonobos
Nishida, T. (2021, June 26). Bonobo. In Britannica. Bonobo | Size, Habitat, & Facts | Britannica https://www.britannica.com/animal/bonobo
Nova. (2005). The Bonobo in All of Us. NOVA | The Last Great Ape | The Bonobo In All of Us | PBS
Palagi, E., & Demuru, E. (2017). Pan paniscus or Pan ludens? Bonobos, Playful Attitude and Social Tolerance. In Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.
Pisor, A. C., & Surbeck, M. (2019). The Evolution of Intergroup Tolerance in Nonhuman Primates and Humans. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 28(4), 210-223.
Recio, Belinda. (2017). Inside Animal Hearts and Minds. Bears that Count, Goats that Surf, and Other True Stories of Animal Intelligence and Emotion.
Rossano, F. (2013). Sequence Organization and Timing of Bonobo Mother-Infant Interactions. Interaction Studies, 14(2), 160-189.
Samuni, L., Langergraber, K. E., & Surbeck, M. H. (2022). Characterization of Pan Social Systems Reveals In-group/Out-group Distinction and Out-group Tolerance in Bonobos. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(26), e2201122119.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. (2024). Bonobo. https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bonobo
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library. (2024, August 20). Bonobo Fact Sheet. https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/bonobo/reproduction
Staes, N., Eens, M., Weiss, A., & Stevens, J. M. (2017). Bonobo Personality: Age and Sex Effects and Links With Behavior and Dominance. In Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.
Surbeck, M & Hohmann, G. (2017). Affiliations, Aggressions, and an Adoption: Male-Male Relationships in Wild Bonobos. In: Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.
Tan, J., Ariely, D., & Hare, B. (2017). Bonobos Respond Prosocially Toward Members of Other Groups. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-11. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15320-w
Tan, J. & Hare, B. (2017). Prosociality Among Non-Kin in Bonobos and Chimpanzees Compared. In Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.
Time. (2016, November 30). Bonobos: One of Humankind’s Closest Relatives and What They Can Teach Us. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkabybLQYPw
Tokuyama, N., Sakamaki, T., & Furuichi, T. (2019). Inter‐group Aggressive Interaction Patterns Indicate Male Mate Defense and Female Cooperation Across Bonobo Groups at Wamba, Democratic Republic of the Congo. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 170(4), 535-550.
van Berlo, E., Bionda, T., & Kret, M. E. (2023). Attention Toward Emotions is Modulated by Familiarity With the Expressor: A Comparison Between Bonobos and Humans. Emotion.
Verspeek, J., Staes, N., Van Leeuwen, E. J., Eens, M., & Stevens, J. M. (2019). Bonobo Personality Predicts Friendship. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-9.
Woods, Vanessa. (2010). Bonobo Handshake. Penguin Group.
World Wildlife Fund. (2024). Bonobo. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bonobo
Yamamoto, S. and Furuichi, T. (2017) Courtesy Food Sharing Characterized by Begging for Social Bonds in Wild Bonobos. In Bonobos: Unique in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Oxford University Press.