Bonobo

3 weeks ago - The bonobo is found in a 500,000 km2 (190,000 sq mi) area within the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central Africa. It is predominantly frugivorous, compared to the often highly omnivorous diets and hunting of small monkeys, duiker and other antelope exhibited by ...

Bonobos are part of the ape family and therefore do not have tails. If a primate doesn’t have a tail, it’s an ape, and if it does have a tail, it’s likely to be a monkey.

Bonobos and chimpanzees look similar and both share 98.7% of their DNA with humans—making these two ape species our closest living relatives. Bonobos are usually a bit smaller, leaner, and darker than chimpanzees.

February 20, 2024 - Bonobos, both young and adults, are highly playful creatures. They love to wrestle and chase, and just like humans, they also tend to laugh and giggle when tickled. But despite their enthusiastic nature, they are one of the most remarkably ...

Size— Chimpanzees and bonobos are about the same size, but bonobos are more slender and have smaller heads and smaller ears. Food— Chimpanzees eat plant material as well as monkeys and other mammals when they have the chance.

4 days ago - Bonobo, species of ape found only in lowland rainforests along the south bank of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bonobo was regarded as a subspecies of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) until 1933, although the two species ...

October 9, 2025 - Just like chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans, bonobos are great apes, in the Hominidae family. Great apes don’t have a tail, unlike monkeys and are considered the most intelligent primates.

November 25, 2025 - During their first year of life, young bonobos stay very close to their mothers. Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved. Ankel-Simmons (2000) Furuichi & Hashimoto (2002, 2004) Hashimoto & Furuichi (2006) Jurke et al. (2008) Kano (1996) Kuroda (1989) Lee & Guhad (2001) Reichert et al. (2002) Vervaecke et al. (1999) ... A-to-Z list of all SDZWA Library Animal Fact Sheets, organized by common name and scientific name.

November 25, 2025 - Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Physical measurements, appearance, sexual dimorphism, key characteristics

November 25, 2025 - Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Species fact summary, fact sheet table of contents, how to cite

Our closest cousins, bonobos share 98.7 percent of our genetic makeup. They are about two-thirds the size of humans and are covered with dark hair. They are distinguished by their black faces, red lips, two or three webbed toes, a tail tuft, and parted long hair.

July 7, 2025 - Bonobos are great apes, not monkeys, and they communicate through 12 principle call types, including a range of hoots, peeps, barks, grunts, pant laughs, pout moans, and screams. Their vocalizations are generally higher pitched compared to ...

Like chimps, they will hunt together in groups, sneaking up on and cornering monkeys, reptiles and young antelope. Bonobos live in deep forest and swamplands in an unstable region of the world, so there was little study of them in the wild when they were first discovered. Some of what was known about them, however, so confused and disturbed the scientific community that it was kept secret for decades. The fact is, the bonobo has a social structure that incorporates regular and very casual sexual contact between all members, that has nothing to do with reproduction.

November 28, 2022 - Chimpanzees and bonobos share approximately 99.6% of their DNA and can be hard to tell apart. In fact, bonobos were once thought to be merely smaller versions, and called pygmy chimpanzees.

March 14, 2025 - Bonobos are not monkeys. They are a kind of primate called an ape.

Bonobos are great apes. Out of all the primates they are the most similar to us. Our DNA is 98.6% identical to theirs! Bonobos have black fur and black faces with pink lips. The long hair on their head hangs in a parting. They have narrow shoulders, long arms and legs and large, slim hands.

Bonobos look very similar to chimpanzees. They have black hair. Adult male bonobos are larger than the females. Adult males may be almost 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall. They may weigh as much as 134 pounds (61 kilograms).

June 5, 2023 - While chimps are characterised by aggressive male dominance, bonobos are matriarchal, altruistic, and generally pretty chilled. They are distinguished in appearance from chimps by their often more slender body shape, longer limbs, darker face ...