Bonobo
| Bonobo | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bonobo ( Pan paniscus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pan paniscus | ||||||||||||
| Black , 1929 |
The Bonobo [ Bonobo ] or pygmy chimpanzee ( Pan paniscus ) is a primate art from the family of great apes (hominids). Together with its sister species , the common chimpanzee , it forms the genus of chimpanzees ( Pan ). Both species are the most biologically close relatives of humans. Outwardly, the bonobo differs from the common chimpanzee in that it has significantly longer legs, pink lips and a darker face. There are also numerous other physical and behavioral differences. The term dwarf chimpanzee is misleading because both chimpanzee species are approximately the same size.
anatomy
Adult female bonobos are slightly smaller with an average head trunk length of 70 to 76 centimeters than adult males with a head trunk length of 70 to 83 centimeters. Like all great apes, bonobos are tailless. In terms of weight, there is a clear gender dimorphism : while males reach a weight of 37 to 61 kilograms, females only weigh around 27 to 38 kilograms. The fur is dark brown or black.
The limbs are longer and slimmer than those of the common chimpanzee. As with all great apes - with the exception of humans - the arms are significantly longer than the legs. The thumb is longer and thinner than that of its relative, the first toe of the feet can be opposed, as in almost all primates .
The face is hairless and darker in color than that of the common chimpanzee, overall the skull is rounder and more delicate. Many animals have a head of hair parted in the middle. The ears are rounded and protrude from the fur, as in all African great apes there are distinct bulges above the eyes. The muzzle protrudes, the mouth is characterized by a light mouth area. In contrast to the common chimpanzee, the canine teeth are hardly sexually dimorphic , which means that they are approximately the same size in males and females.
distribution and habitat
Bonobos are endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo , where they are only found in the central and southern parts of the country. The river arch of the Congo represents the northern limit of distribution, this hardly crossable river also forms the border to the home of the common chimpanzees. In the south they are now at home as far as the Kasai and Sankuru rivers . In the past, however, their distribution area extended further south, presumably as far as northern Angola .
In contrast to the common chimpanzees, the habitat of the bonobos is limited to tropical rainforests .
Way of life
Movement and activity times
Bonobos can be found on the ground or in trees when foraging, but they are primarily tree dwellers. On the ground, like all African great apes , with the exception of humans, they usually move in a four-footed ankle gait , that is, they support themselves with the foremost two phalanges. On the trees they show a greater variety of movements: They climb with all four limbs, but also walk bipedally ( bipedes ) on broad branches and move around hanging from their arms ( suspensory ).
Like all great apes, they are diurnal. The highlights of their activities are in the morning and afternoon, and they rest in the midday heat. They make a sleeping nest out of leaves when they sleep. This is mostly high up in the trees and is usually only used once.
Social behavior
The social structure of the bonobos is described as a fission-fusion organization ("separating and coming together"). This means that they live in large groups of 40 to 120 individuals, which are often divided into subgroups of mostly 6 to 23 individuals, only to get back together sometimes. In contrast to the common chimpanzees, which have a similar social structure, the subgroups of bonobos are larger, more often mixed-sex and more stable. Also one rarely finds single individuals and if so, then only males.
Both the females and the males in a group establish their hierarchy. This also leads to aggressive interactions, which are not rarer, but of much less intensity than with common chimpanzees. Sexual interactions play an important role in controlling anger (see below). Within the large group, the females form the core and also assume the leadership role. A dominance of the males over the females can hardly be seen, there have even been reports of an extremely aggressive behavior of the females towards the males. In general, the relationships between the females in a group are much closer than those between the males. Mutual grooming ( comfort behavior ) is very common among females , and they also share food with each other more often.
The males, on the other hand, have little cohesion with one another, they groom each other's fur less often and, unlike the common chimpanzees, do not form alliances to improve their rank in the group hierarchy. In general, the males maintain close contact with their mother throughout their life - unlike the females, they remain permanently in their birth group. The position of the males in the group hierarchy should also depend on the rank of their mother.
Sexual interaction
The interactions between the individual group members are more peaceful than with other primates and often involve sexual behavior. This should serve to reduce tension and is practiced regardless of age, gender or rank. Allowing sexual contact in return for food is also widespread. Bonobos practice a variety of sexual contacts, the animals copulate with different partners on a daily basis. This sexual intercourse takes place in a wide variety of positions, unlike the common chimpanzee in a third of the cases with facing faces. Other forms include occasional oral sex , genital caressing, and kisses with tongue. Females often practice the mutual rubbing of the genital regions ("scissoring"). This behavior should serve the reconciliation and the regulation of tensions and also indicate the hierarchical rank, since it is more often started by lower-ranking females. The males also sometimes practice pseudo-populations, they wage "fencing fights" with their penises - hanging from trees across the street - or rub their scrotum against the buttocks of another animal.
“Fearing that this might create the appearance of a morbidly sex-obsessed species, I must add, based on hundreds of hours of observation of bonobos, that their sexual activity is more casual and relaxed. It seems to be a completely natural part of their group life. Like humans, bonobos only practice sexuality occasionally, not continuously. In addition, with an average copulation time of 13 seconds, sexual contact is a fairly quick affair by human standards. "
Territorial behavior
The size of the territory of a large group is 22 to 68 square kilometers, which corresponds to a rough average of two animals per square kilometer. The length of the daily forays is around 1.2 to 2.4 kilometers. The territories of different groups can overlap, but most of the time they avoid each other. If an encounter nevertheless occurs, they draw the other group's attention to their territory by shouting or showing off. Sometimes there can also be fights. However, the brutal attacks that are reminiscent of war tactics that occur in common chimpanzees have not yet been proven. Frans de Waal , however, points out injuries or the absence of hands or feet in the wild.
communication
Compared to the common chimpanzees, vocal expressions outweigh the use of postures and facial expressions in communication, which is probably due to their life in the dense and often dark forest. A high-pitched, high-pitched scream is used to establish contact, a sound reminiscent of barking dogs represents a warning. Other sounds can express excitement, satisfaction and other more. Panting in and out is an equivalent to human laughter.
Reproduction
The length of the sexual cycle is around 46 days, the oestrus lasts up to 20 days and is characterized by a normal swelling in the female.
Numerical values for reproduction are so far only known from animals in captivity; From observations in the common chimpanzee it is known that these values can deviate significantly from those of wild animals and are therefore uncertain. The gestation period is around 220 to 250 days, after which a single young is usually born. The weight of the newborn is 1 to 2 kilograms. In the first months of life the young animal clings to the mother's fur, later it rides on her back. Weaning takes about 4 years. The female can give birth again around five years after giving birth.
Sexual maturity occurs at around 9 years of age; however, the first reproduction only takes place a few years later, at around 13 to 15 years of age.
Since field studies on bonobos did not begin until the 1970s, life expectancy in the wild is unknown. Animals in captivity can live to be around 50 years.
food
Bonobos are omnivores, but their diet is mainly plant-based. Fruits make up the main component of the diet, leaves and herbs of the ground vegetation complement the menu, especially in times of low fruit. They also eat insects and other invertebrates . Contrary to earlier assumptions, bonobos also occasionally hunt small to medium-sized vertebrates , with the hunt being carried out by the females, unlike the common chimpanzees. Ducker (small forest antelopes) were considered until recently as their main prey. However, in 2008 it was discovered that they also hunt other primates such as crested muzzles.
Tool use
The use of tools in free-living bonobos seems to be extremely rare, for example in the form of leaves to protect against rain. This behavior occurs much more frequently in animals in human care and has been observed for a long time.
Bonobos, common chimpanzees, and humans
Information about the genetic similarity between humans and the different species of great apes was initially based on research findings on the similarities of amino acid sequences of certain important proteins . According to these studies, the bonobos were classified as the most recent species closest to humans . Preliminary DNA sequencing of the common chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ) in 2005 concluded that humans and chimpanzees differ in approximately 1.23 percent of the base pairs for single nucleotide polymorphisms . On the other hand, it had previously been established that the common chimpanzees and bonobos differ genetically only slightly. Bonobos and common chimpanzees have intermingled several times during their development, as studies on the genome of both species show.
Discovery and naming
For modern science, the bonobo was not discovered until 1929 on the basis of a skull in a Belgian museum that had previously been mistaken for that of a young common chimpanzee. As first described the German zoologist applies Ernst Schwarz , although the first detailed work until 1933 by Harold Coolidge have been published.
According to a popular belief, the name Bonobo is based on a misrepresentation of the name of the city of Bolobo on the lower reaches of the Congo River . The first specimens that were brought to Europe came from there. Since it is not significantly smaller than the common chimpanzee, the term dwarf chimpanzee is rarely used. The scientific epithet paniscus is a diminutive form of the generic name Pan , which goes back to the goat-footed shepherd god Pan .
research
Research on bonobos is carried out in two directions. On the one hand, field studies have been carried out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the 1970s with the aim of researching the natural way of life of these animals. The Japanese primatologist Takayoshi Kano has been carrying out field studies since 1974, and the couple Gottfried Hohmann and Barbara Fruth in Salonga National Park since 1990 .
Another research focus is to explore the communication skills, intelligence and learning behavior of these animals. The primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh taught three bonobos named Panbanisha , Nyota and in particular Kanzi at a very early age a vocabulary ( Yerkish ) with over 200 terms on a special symbol keyboard, which both use "interlocutors". Bonobos also use chalk to represent the symbols for communication. For example, they are able to use the keyboard to remind their supervisors of the promise to bring them a banana. Kanzi was even able to define a red cup he loved especially as a term on a key that had not been used up until then, and then wished for not just “orange juice” as before, but “orange juice in a red cup”.
The extent to which they can understand and obey spoken words and commands is controversial. Because the supervisors uttered every term (English) at the same time when they pressed the keyboard and spoke a lot to them, the bonobos only understood what was being said after a while. This is why the supervisors at research institutions claim that they can understand bonobos without using the keyboard; on the other hand, critics argue that this could also be due to the sound pattern or body language or simply represent routine actions. The following scene contradicts this criticism: While walking, the supervisor says to Kanzi (analogously) because he makes a listless impression on her: “Are you sad?” He answers with the “Panbanisha” button. "Do you want Panbanisha to be here?" "Yes". She is fetched and he blossoms: a significant insight not only into his communication skills, but also into his emotional life.
The aforementioned carers compare the intelligence achieved by their protégés with that of two to three year old children. Trained animals also manage to make simple stone tools and use them sensibly. However, this behavior is not shown by all animals. Bonobos, who are less used to contact with people or to tests, do not manage to establish a connection between the symbols and the objects, they also do not make stone tools and cannot solve more difficult tasks.
Threat and protection
Bonobos are considered endangered species, both due to the loss of their habitat and due to being hunted for consumption by humans ( bush meat ). The IUCN lists them as endangered .
Estimates of the total population are hardly feasible. As an example of the uncertainty, two studies appeared in 1995, one of which estimated the total population to be only 5,000 animals, while the other reported that the total number could be larger than previously assumed and exceed 100,000 animals. The environmental foundation WWF is assuming a maximum of 50,000 animals in 2009.
To protect the endangered great apes, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo placed a large rainforest area under nature protection in 2006, the Lomako Yokokala Reserve in the provinces of Mongala and Tshuapa . On the initiative of Claudine André , the bonobo "orphanage" Lola ya Bonobo was built near Kinshasa in 2002 .
As part of the European Conservation Breeding Program , Planckendael Zoo coordinates the conservation breeding of bonobos in European zoos. The world's first breeding was achieved in 1993 in the Frankfurt Zoo .
Systematics
The bonobo and the common chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ) form the genus of chimpanzees ( Pan ). It is estimated that the two species separated 1.8 to 0.8 million years ago. For a long time, scientists assumed that after the separation of the two species of monkeys, there was no more genetic mixing. This was considered a rather unusual fact among primates and was explained by the fact that the Congo River in Africa came into being exactly during the period of species separation . As a result, the bonobos can still be found in a smaller area south of the Congo, whereas the chimpanzees in Equatorial Africa north of the river . More recent research results, however, show an occasional genetic mixture of both species.
The chimpanzee species ( Pan ) is within the family of great apes (hominids) a Schwestertaxon the Hominini . The development lines of the two parted before 5 to 6 million years ago.
literature
- Thomas Geissmann: Comparative Primatology . Springer, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 (English). .
- Frans BM de Waal : Bonobos - the affectionate great apes. Birkhäuser, Berlin / Basel / Boston 1998, ISBN 3-7643-5826-2 .
- Frans BM de Waal: Bonobo Sex and Society. In: Scientific American. March 1995, Volume 272, No. 3, pp. 82-88, doi: 10.1038 / scientificamerican0395-82 [ full text ( memento of July 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )].
- Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Roger Lewin: Kanzi. Droemer Knaur, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-426-26669-5 . (Translation by Sebastian Vogel; Original title: Kanzi. The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind. Wiley, New York 1994, ISBN 0-471-58591-2 ).
- Claudine André: Wild tenderness: my paradise for bonobos in the heart of Africa. Piper, Munich / Zurich 2009, ISBN 978-3-492-25328-4 .
Web links
- Pan paniscus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2007 Posted by: B. Fruth u. a., 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
- Great Ape Trust: Scientific investigation of bonobo skills and -Intelligenz (English)
- Socio-ecological studies on bonobos - from the 2003 yearbook of the Max Planck Society
- Pictures and videos on arkive.org
- Frans BM de Waal: Bonobo Sex and Society ( Memento of July 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- “I think sex makes you braver” , Tagesspiegel , December 10, 2007, interview with the bonobo researcher Claudine André
- Video: The social behavior of the bonobos . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1997, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / C-1985 .
- Video: Bonobo's sexual behavior and its functions for relieving social tension . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1997, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / C-1986 .
Individual evidence
- ^ The Brockhaus in text and picture 2004.
- ↑ Bonobo (Pan paniscus) ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . → Bonobo fact file → Bonobo description. On: arkive.org ; Retrieved July 29, 2016.
- ^ David W. Macdonald: The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-850823-9
- ^ Frans BM de Waal: Bonobo Sex and Society. In: Scientific American. Volume 272, No. 3, March 1995, pp. 82-88 ( Memento of July 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in particular p. 86: “ Given its peacemaking and appeasement functions, it is not surprising that sex among bonobos occurs in so many di ›erent partner combinations, including between juveniles and adults. ".
- ^ Frans BM de Waal: Bonobo Sex and Society. In: Scientific American. Volume 272, No. 3, March 1995, pp. 82-88 ( memento of July 2, 2007 on the Internet Archive ) At: primatesworld.com ; Retrieved March 1, 2007.
- ^ Frans BM de Waal: Bonobo Sex and Society. In: Scientific American. Volume 272, No. 3, March 1995, pp. 82-88 ( Memento of July 2, 2007 on the Internet Archive ) At: primatesworld.com ; Retrieved on March 1, 2007, translated from English by user: Bradypus , original quote: "Read this leave the impression of a pathologically oversexed species, I must add, based on hundreds of hours of watching bonobos, that their sexual activity is rather casual and relaxed. It appears to be a completely natural part of their group life. Like people, bonobos engage in sex only occasionally, not continuously. Furthermore, with the average copulation lasting 13 seconds, sexual contact in bonobos is rather quick by human standards. "
- ^ Martin Surbeck, Gottfried Hohmann: Primate hunting by bonobos at LuiKotale, Salonga National Park . In: Current Biology. Volume 18, No. 19, 2008, pp. R906-R907, doi : 10.1016 / j.cub.2008.08.040 .
- ^ T. Gruber, Z. Clay, K. Zuberbühler: A comparison of bonobo and chimpanzee tool use: evidence for a female bias in the Pan lineage. In: Animal Behavior. Volume 80, No. 6, 2010, p. 1. doi : 10.1016 / j.anbehav.2010.09.005 .
- ^ The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium: Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome. In: Nature Volume 437, 2005, pp. 69-87, doi : 10.1038 / nature04072 .
- ^ Ning Yu et al .: Low nucleotide diversity in chimpanzees and bonobos. In: Genetics. Volume 164, No. 4, August 2003, pp. 1511-1518, PMID 12930756 .
- ↑ Marc de Manuel1, Martin Kuhlwilm, Peter Frandsen et al .: Chimpanzee genomic diversity reveals ancient admixture with bonobos. In: Science. 354, 2016, p. 477, doi : 10.1126 / science.aag2602 .
- ↑ Franz BM de Waal, Hartmut Schickert: The monkey in us. Why we are how we are. Hanser, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-446-20780-5 , p. 18.
- ^ Susan Savage-Rumbaugh: Cultural and Linguistic Competencies of Bonobos . On: Ars Electronica Archive / Catalog Archive from 2005; last accessed on July 29, 2016.
- ^ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's mammals of the world. Baltimore 1999, p. 626.
- ↑ Stefan Ziegler, Frank Barsch: The disappearance of the great apes. In: WWF Magazin. No. 3, 2009, p. 13, ( online at: schattenblick.de ; accessed on September 28, 2013).
- ↑ www.Zootierliste.de. Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
- ^ Anne Fischer et al: Evidence for a complex demographic history of Chimpanzees. In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. Volume 21, No. 5, 2004, pp. 799-808, doi : 10.1093 / molbev / msh083 .
- ↑ Kay Prüfer, Kasper Munch, Ines Hellmann, Keiko Akagi et al .: The bonobo genome compared with the chimpanzee and human genomes. In: Nature. Online advance publication on June 13, 2012, doi : 10.1038 / nature11128 .
