Scientific name:
Pan paniscus

Natural spread:
Africa

on the left shore of the Congo-river in Zaïre lives the Bonobo or dwarf-chimpanzee, that only approximately half so heavily, somewhat small and graziler built is as its bigger relative. While the chimpanzee lives in ground-proximity sooner, the Bonobo is on the way more frequent than Hangler on the trees. its more clearly human-nicely working red lips are showy, and also in the sexual-area, the Bonobo is in certain respects more anthropoid. The opening of the female sex-organs points with it like with the human being forward, and its combination-position stomach to stomach fits to this anatomical Sachverhalt. After zoo-observations, the Bonobofrauen ask for the mating by lying down on the back. With the union, they then put even the arms about the body of the partner. Pregnancy, birth and child-development proceed like with the chimpanzee.

Relationship to the human being It is remarkable in serological sense that the blood-proteins of the Bonobo are those of the more anthropoid than this of the chimpanzee. Therefore infers also from this view on the especially human-near position of the dwarf-chimpanzee leaves itself.

Habitat, nutrition Bonobos occur only in the tropical rain-forest, where mainly it itself from fruits, but also from leaves and seeds nourishes. They eat also caterpillars and other invertebrate creatures as well as now and then meat of carried off young antelopes or rodents beside it.

Way of life Bonobos live in groups of 50-120 animals, with what both sexes usually occur in these groups in contrast to the other chimpanzees side by side. Several of such groups, that mingle at meetings and separate again in new composition, live within a bigger stripe-area. The mutual fur-care, that is to be observed between males and females, serves the relationship between the group-members. In captivity, Bonobos only very rarely are held.

Endangering The occurrences of the Bonobo are very distracted, and the continuances are threatened through habitat-destruction and Bejagung of the extinction.