Bonobo: Humankind's closest relative T-Shirt

Bonobo: Humankind's closest relative

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Bonobos are humankind’s closest relatives, along with chimpanzees, yet most people don’t even know that bonobos exist! They live only in one country: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bonobos were last great ape species to be discovered, and could be the first to go extinct if we do not act quickly to save them and their rainforest home. Bonobos stand apart from the other great apes in fascinating and important ways. But perhaps the most compelling aspect of bonobos is their society.
It is difficult to answer the question: “What is a Bonobo?” Bonobos are complex beings with profound intelligence, emotionality, and sensitivity. It’s like asking the question: “What is a human?” And, how do you answer? Philosophers, scientists, and mystics have been trying to figure it out for thousands of years!
Biologically speaking, bonobos are the closest you can get to being human without being human. Bonobos look more like humans than other apes, and display many behavioral similarities as well. Bonobos and people share 98.4% of the same genetic make-up (DNA). Bonobos and their cousins the chimpanzees, are more closely related genetically to us than they are to gorillas! But, like gorillas, they dwell only in the equatorial forests of central Africa, the cradle of humanity itself.
Bonobos are great apes, along with chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. Because we share so many characteristics with these simian species, some scientists contend that humans should be classified as apes too. Indigenous people who have dwelled among bonobos in the Congo forest have many legends about how bonobos and man were brothers in the distant past. They tell stories about how bonobos showed people what foods to eat in the forest, how a bonobo saved a man who needed help, how bonobos themselves are trying to become human.
These apes have fascinated indigenous people of Africa for hundreds, even thousands of years, yet to most of the world’s population, they have been known to exist only for the span of one lifetime. Bonobos were not discovered by scientists until 1933, and even then, not alive, but in the Tervuren Museum in Belgium, identified by means of a skull. Classified as Pan paniscus, bonobos have been studied in the wild and in captivity for about 30 years, since the mid-1970s.
A Different Breed of Ape
Bonobos stand apart from the other great apes in fascinating and important ways.
Physically, their anatomy most closely resembles Australopithecus, our early human ancestor. Bonobos walk bipedally, on two feet, more easily and for longer periods of time than the other apes. They are highly intelligent. Some bonobos in captivity have even learned to use human language! But perhaps the most compelling feature of bonobos is their society.
Peaceful and powered by females
... In contrast to the competitive, male-dominated culture of their close relative the chimpanzee, bonobo society is peaceful, matriarchal and more egalitarian. Bonobos live in large groups where harmonious coexistence is the norm. While in many ways, males and females have “separate but equal” roles, females carry the highest rank, and the sons of ranking females are the leaders among males. Females form close bonds and alliances, which is another way they maintain their power among males, who are larger and stronger physically.
Like chimps, bonobo society is “male philopatric,” meaning that the females migrate to other groups when they reach puberty. This eliminates the chance of incest and increases genetic diversity. However, the wild bonobo population is so fragmented now in the Congo, with small groups living in isolated pockets, that the sustainability of the species is severely threatened. It will be critical to establish protected areas and corridors to provide for genetic viability of the species.
From http://www.bonobo.org/

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