Bonobo Ape

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Family: Hominidae

Order: Primates

Genus: Pan

Species: P.paniscus

Evolution

Subspecies

Western Chimpanzee

Eastern Chimpanzee

Central Chimpanzee

Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee

The Bonobo Ape is 2 million years old when it split from the common chimpanzees line. The closest living relative to the Bonobos are chimpanzees. The Bonobos DNA sequence diverged from the Chimpanzees 2 million years ago.

3 Ancestors

Proconsul

Dryopithecus

Sahelanthropus

Description

Bonobos have more of a slender build than chimpanzees. They have longer legs, smaller head, and the hair on the top of their head parts to the middle. They have a lean build that allows them to be light enough with their muscle mass to climb trees and be fast. The male bonobos typically weigh around 85 to 132 pounds and are 28 to 32 inches tall. The female bonobos typically weigh around 68 to 110 pounds and are usually the same height as the males. In the wild bonobos typically live around 20 to 30 years because of the challenges in the wild, but in captivity they can live up to 40 years with some individuals living into their 50s. The difference between males and females are that males are usually stronger and heavier than the females and the females are usually the ones that will take care of the young. Females in the community usually have a higher status then the males and control alot.

Habitat

In the rainforests of the Congo basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo they receive around 59 to 87 inches of rain a year that creates a green lush environment .The common tree of the congo basin is the mahogany trees. Orchids are also really common because they grow on trees and benefit a lot from the humidity. Marantaceae is an understory plant that grows below the canopy of trees and it is known for the decorative leaves. Elephant grass is often found in places that don't have much tree coverage so they can get the sunlight they need. Other primates that are in the congo basin are lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, and mangabey monkeys. Larger mammals that are living there are the African Elephant, Bongo Antelope, and Okapi. The carnivores that live there are leopards and the African golden cat. The congo basin experiences a tropical rainforest climate, the region ranges from 68 degrees fahrenheit to 86 degrees fahrenheit. The Congo basin has dense rainforest, swamps and wetlands, rivers and floodplains, savannas, and mountains.

The only continent the bonobo ape can be found in is the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bonobo is not invasive at all and is on the endangered list.

Diet

The diet of the bonobo ape rangers from fruit, seeds, sprouts, leaves, flowers, bark, stems, pith, roots, and mushrooms which all can be found within the congo basin that allows them to have plenty of food sources around their habitat. The bonobo ape will eat every day because the food they are eating are rich with nutrients, it takes a lot of eating for the bonobo because they are eating smaller objects.THe bonobo ape will gather most of their food from trees. They will climb up the trees and gather the food but than climb down and share all the food they gathered to their family and other apes. A special food that the bonobo ape will eat is fish. Sometimes the bonobo will try to catch fish from their river rich enviroment and even eat the small fish.

Social Structure

Bonobo apes do live in social groups usually called communities or troops. These communities usually have up to 30 to 80 individuals. The groups are led by an alpha female making their communities matriarchal. Females in the group's roles are in maintaining social bonds and group harmony. Males status can vary. The higher ranking males often achieve their position from their mother's influence. Younger juveniles engage in play, exploration, and learning. They form younger groups and practice social behaviors. Bonobos interact with each other by grooming each other and picking insects and other dangerous things on other bonobos. They also interact by sharing food with other in their troop.

Causes of death

The main animal that will hunt bonobo apes in their habitat are leopards. Leopards are one of the only predators of the bonobo and can use their skills to even take down an adult male especially if they are alone or in small groups that don't provide that much protection. In the bonobo society sexual competition doesn't usually lead to deaths because compared to other primates they are relatively peaceful to each other. And the female bonobos form strong alliances that help mitigate conflicts and reduce violence throughout the society. Bonobo apes have a lot of diseases that will affect them like Pneumonia, tuberculosis, parasitic infections, ebola virus, and anthrax.

Reproduction

Bonobo apes have a relatively slow reproduction rate compared to other animals. They usually give birth once every 4 to 5 years. Bonobos have a promiscuous mating system which means the male and female will have multiple mating partners throughout their lives. Bonobos do not have a specific mating season. Because in their habitat the weather basically stays the same year round they don't have to worry about any cold or anything like that. Bonobo mating rituals are characterized by their complexity and social significance extending beyond reproduction. Their reproduction is initiated by the female with the use of grooming, gestures, and close physical proximity. Usually only one baby is born at a time because of the big posture of the baby bonobo.

Competition

Bonobos experience limited interspecies competition due to their specific competition due to their ecological niche. Bonobos do compete with other species like chimpanzees. Sometimes their lands overlap and then they can get into competition whether who should have the land. They also have to compete with the forest ungulates because they also eat a lot of the fruits and plants even though they are really abundant they still have to compete for their own foods.

Development

The stages of development start with Infancy which is around 0-3 years old where they are really dependant on the other bonobo taking care of it and learning is really important during this time as well. The next stage is the juvenile stage which is around the age of 3-7 years old and now they have increased mobility that allows them to play with other young juveniles and they also learn social norms during this time. The next stage is adolescence and this is from the ages of 7-10 and they start growing a lot of independence during this time and they start to begin to show interest in sexual behaviors but are not yet fully mature. After the age of 10 the bonobo apes are fully mature and are ready for sexual reproduction. The males and females grow up very similar to each other but instead just learn different social norms that relate more to the actual gender they are.

IUCN Rating

The bonobo ape is listed as endangered and has been endangered since 2016. Their population is decreasing the minimum population of the bonobo is around 15,000-20,000.

Human Impact

The main impact against the bonobo ape is habitat destruction. The rainforests are being deforested for agriculture,logging, and infrastructure. Potential impacts against them are the possibility of becoming extinct because their population is decreasing and they reproduce pretty slowly so it'd be hard for their population to increase at a high rate. Humans have been interacting with bonobo apes for thousands of years. It first started with ancient and traditional interactions. Then in 1929 when german anatomists identified the bonobo as a different species and not just as a chimpanzee. Humans have put in efforts to try and help this species by creating protected areas that create a safe place for the apes to live in so we can try to get their population growing again. We created anti-poaching and have more law enforcement in areas where bonobos might be hunted in. We also created more sanctuary's for them that also helps with the research of their species.

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