Bonobos and Chimpanzees(Pan paniscus & Pan troglodytes)

Bonobo: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Following bonobos and…

Guides and trackers

What bonobos do…

Ecological: Fruits, shoots (THV) and meat

Chimpanzee communities

• Female with offspring in core areas

• Males work together and are dominant to females

• Food patches small and males feed first

• Male relatives defend community and will attack and kill neighbors

• Tool users

Chimpanzees

Bonobos

• Females are highly social

• Males with females not other males

• Food patches never small, females feed first

• Communities are friendly

Minimum spanning polygons

Bonobos can use tools

Termite mounds

• 67 large mounds in 4km x 35m transect

• 36 km2 = 8870 mounds

• 60% with recent termite activity

Lomako Bonobo termite-fishing tools (n=4)?

Termite fishing holes?

Pangolin excavations

Bonobos

• Sex when not ovulating (1 per 6 hours)

• Face to face mating• All possible age & sex

combinations• Innovative

Females

• Females enter fruit tree

• GG rub = food to come

• Then eat• Making allies

Males• Single male with

group of females• Mother’s help with

rank and access• Fighting for best

time to mate• Alternate

strategies (consortships)

Male v Female

• Females always together

• Males usually alone, tense when together

• Females have power over single male

Bonobo female power

• Males dominant but deferent when feeding

• Females win over males without fighting

• Females control of prized resources (meat)

Love and Sex: evolution of the human mating system

• Large brained, dependent offspring

• Paternal care / meat provisioning

• Paternal certainty• Concealed ovulation• Sex outside of

ovulation for pair-bond

Monogamy

• Infant needs males

• Pair bonding / monogamy

Problems: humans as primates

• Monogamy = sex is rare

• Human ovulation is advertized

• Different marriage patterns

• Modern male hunters and sharing

• Male v female choices

Humans: a woman wants…

Humans

From bonobos and other primates:

• Sex for friendship, not monogamy

• Sex to reduce male aggression

• Male behavior to get female choice

• Power of allies

For males: more than one way

Humans vary

Bushmeat & orphan trade

Deforestation for agriculture both small and large scale

Conservation Efforts:

• Initiated in 1991 (approx)• Area between Lomako and Yekekora• AWF and ICCN• Gazettement of Faunal Reserve of

Lomako-Yokokala (RFLY)• 3,625 sq km, 10 primate species• 3yrs funding - managed biodiversity

area

Acknowledgements: colleagues, students, funding

sources

Boise FundBonobo Protection

FundConservation

InternationalL.S.B. Leakey

FoundationNational Science

Foundation BNS-8311252, SBR-9600547, BCS-0610233

North Carolina Zoological Society

University of Oregon: Vice President for Research