Description:
The bonobo is a highly intelligent and social great ape, closely related to the chimpanzee, and is also called the pygmy chimpanzee. Recognised by their slender build, dark faces, and distinctively parted hair, bonobos are often known for their peaceful and cooperative behaviors. They are less aggressive than chimpanzees and more likely to resolve conflicts through sexual behaviour, earning them the nickname “hippie apes.”
Baby bonobos looking at each other. © Andrey Gudkov, for Friends of Bonobos
Key facts
Population:
Bonobos have experienced significant decline in the past 15-20 years and are predicted to keep declining.
Diet:
Habitat:
Bonobos are found in forests, such as moist, mixed, mature and secondary forests.
Range:
Bonobos are only found in the Demographic Republic of the Congo.
A Bonobo in the trees
© Friends of Bonobos
Portrait of a juvenile Bonobo
Threats
The main threat Bonobos face is poaching for bushmeat as they are the largest primates in the region. Logging and agriculture is fragmenting bonobos’ habitat and bringing them into closer contact with humans which increases the risk of disease transmitting.
Conservation
Tusk supports the Friends of Bonobos, who rescue orphaned and illegally traded bonobos, nursing them back to health, before releasing them into the wild.
Learn more about the projects
The main threat Bonobos face is poaching for bushmeat as they are the largest primates in the region. Logging and agriculture is fragmenting bonobos’ habitat and bringing them into closer contact with humans which increases the risk of disease transmitting.
Conservation
Tusk supports the Friends of Bonobos, who rescue orphaned and illegally traded bonobos, nursing them back to health, before releasing them into the wild.