Bonobo

Facts

IUCN ENDANGERED (EN)

Facts about this animal

The bonobo is very similar to the chimpanzee, but smaller and more lightly built. Their head-body length is 55-60 cm and they have a shoulder height of 90-100 cm. The weight is 25-40 kg. There is no marked sexual dimorphism, but males are somewhat bigger and heavier than females.

The Bonobo is one of the last large mammals to be discovered. Primatologists have characterized the species as "female-centered and egalitarian and as one that substitutes sex for aggression". The Bonobo shares more than 98% of our genetic profile, making it as close to a human as a fox is to a dog.

Did you know?
that bonobos were not formally identified by scientists until 1926? Before that, they were thought to be a subspecies of the common chimpanzee. They are still the least understood of the great apes.

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	PRIMATES
Suborder	SIMIAE
Family	PONGIDAE (HOMINIDAE)
Name (Scientific)	Pan paniscus
Name (English)	Bonobo
Name (French)	Bonobo, Chimpanzé pygmé ou nain
Name (German)	Bonobo, Zwergschimpanse
Name (Spanish)	Chimpanzé pigmeo
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Kabir Bakie

Distribution

Distribution
Range	The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Habitat	Tropical rainforest
Wild population	29,500 (1997) and 50,000 (2001) (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	200 registered by the International studbook (2004), 167 reported to ISIS (2007)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 33 or 34 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

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TacoDeposit

Why do zoos keep this animal

The Bonobo is an endangered species and its habitat is continuosly shrinking and deteriorating. With a view of building up a viable reserve population, an International Studbook has been established already in 1967 under the WAZA umbrella, and coordinated conservation breeding programmes are operated at the regional level by AZA and EAZA.

How this animal should be kept

Legal requirements for the keeping of apes vary greatly from country to country. Even if lower national standards apply, it is recommended that an outdoor enclosure of 400 m² and, in cold and temperate climatic zones, an indoor enclosure of 200m² should be provided for up to 5 adult animals. These enclosures should be at least 6 m high. They should be enlarged by 10% for each additional adult. During daytime, access to the outdoor enclosure should be possible whenever weather conditions permit. In- and outdoor enclosures should be connected by at least two doors. The indoor temperature should not fall below 20°C, it should be higher in places (radiators). The day phase should be around 12 hours, the light spectrum should more or less correspond to that of natural sunlight.

Vertical and horizontal climbing opportunities, horizontal benches or platforms allowing for sitting at various levels above ground, structures allowing the individuals to retire and avoid one another, and separate cages for temporary isolation should be provided as should toys, and branches and other material for constructing sleeping nests. The outdoor enclosure should have some natural vegetation such as a grass cover, bushes and live trees in addition to dead trees, ropes, climbing frames etc. Live trees may need to be protected by hot wires or similar.

Food should be provided at least three times per day, it should comprise a variety of fruit and vegetables, sufficient animal protein, leaves and branches all year round), and should be presented in a way to keep the animals busy over a longer period of time.

Bonobos should be kept in famil groups or bachelor groups. The keeping of single animals must be avoided.