BonoboThe Forgotten Ape
[review] [excerpt] [endlinks] [purchase]
Bonobo
The Forgotten Ape
[review]
[excerpt]
[endlinks]
[purchase]
by
University of California
Press, 1997
Reviewed by
Bonobos have a lot of sex. Indeed, these long-overlooked apes - for years mistakenly classified as "pigmy chimps" - are associated most strongly with sex, according to Frans de Waal's intriguing new book Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape.
Sex, de Waal makes it clear, is the most noticeable feature of the apes' social life. It
soothes ruffled tempers, coaxes food from a higher-ranking ape, lubricates a new arrival's
entrance into the group, and alleviates stress in competitive situations. Bonobos engage
in sex in virtually every partner combination: male-male, female-male, female-female,
adult-juvenile, and group sex. The only sexual contact that appears to be off limits
is between close family members. They also have no limits on position: front-to-back,
front-to-front, back-to-back. They also engage in oral sex, solo and mutual masturbation,
and French-kissing. Although they have sex more frequently than other primates
(including humans), the encounters are brief, about 13 seconds. But it soon becomes
obvious that sex is bonobo social glue, no different from any other social interaction.
And once researchers understand that, it's the apes' intelligence and temperament that
seem most impressive.
The last of the great apes to be "discovered," bonobos were originally classified a subgroup of chimpanzee. Time and observation has revealed that the bonobo (Pan paniscus) is a species in its own right - as distant from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) as either species is from humans.
The uncommon social structure, sexual behavior, and intellectual capacity of bonobos
reveal compelling clues about the roots of human nature. Bonobo anatomy is similar
to that of our early human ancestors, and bonobos and humans share 98 percent of their
DNA, causing some to call them our closest cousins. Physically, bonobos are
about the same size as chimpanzees, although endowed with longer limbs. Their legs
are heavier than their arms and the bonobo back is straighter, giving them a
human-like upright appearance when on two legs.
Socially, the bonobo is unique among the four great apes in that its society can be
called female-centered and egalitarian. Female bonding seems to cement the "political"
structure, pushing males to the periphery of the group. Because females dominate,
they get the first pick of food, nesting sites, etc. However, there is little competition
for mates; in fact, bonobos do not appear to choose mates. They have sexual contact
with almost any individual in the group - or outside the group when two bands
meet - and none of the pairings are stable. Unlike humans, the bonobo seems to have no
permanent family ties, except those between mother and son. This distinguishes them from
other apes - orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees - that have male-dominated social structures
that discourage female bonding. Often, females of these species will wander alone with
their infants, behavior that researchers believe guards against infanticide.
Unique among the bonobos, too, are the ties that bind together the females of the group. The bonds are cemented through sexual contact, mainly genital-genital rubbing. Daughters, upon reaching adolescence, leave their natal group and wander until they find another group with which to live. The young females seek out and bond with other females of the new group. These strong ties of sisterhood and the bonobo's "free love" mentality, researchers suggest, is a safeguard against infanticide. If a male bonobo has no idea which infant is his, it makes no sense to kill any.
The book is necessarily hazy on the evolution of the bonobo. Researchers have theories but
little concrete knowledge of how the primates evolved, or why Homo sapiens eventually rose
to its current dominant position. The split between the human line of ancestry
and the line of the chimpanzee and bonobo is thought to have occurred about eight million
years ago. Bonobos and chimpanzees diverged after that, a split that may have been caused
by the chimps' need to adapt to a relatively dry, open landscape. Bonobos, it appears,
have never left the rain forest. Perhaps more interesting than evolutionary conjecture
are the gender relationships between bonobos and what they might mean for human society.
Since we are as closely related to bonobos as to chimpanzees, it is as plausible that our
society evolved from a comparative female-dominated system as it is that we are
the progeny of the aggressive, hierarchical, and male-dominated apes. For those who
think biology is destiny, this is a foundation for an argument that humans are not
necessarily propelled by our DNA toward aggressiveness and the drive for power.
Since chimpanzees have been considered the most human-like of all the primates, most research has centered on them. This emphasis on chimpanzee behavior has given rise to theories such as the "killer ape," an ancestor that "explains" human social interactions and our evident taste for war and genocide. The limitations of the inevitable comparisons between chimps and bonobos quickly become apparent. The bonobo is more social-minded, less aggressive, and more likely to opt for a peaceful, pleasure-filled solution to conflict. As one primate researcher puts it in the book, bonobos are group-oriented while chimpanzees are more independently minded. de Waal observes that chimpanzees resolve sexual issues through power; bonobos resolve power issues through sex. The book makes clear that bonobos can't be compared with other primates: They enjoy a unique social structure.
A cross between a coffee-table book and an introductory text, Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape is one that readers will look through more than once. Despite the prominent role of sex in the bonobo social circles, not all of the photos in the book are sexual in nature. Some of the most appealing and intriguing images depict nonsexual interactions between adults and children: a mother playing "airplane" with her infant, a female gently lifting the chin of a juvenile bonobo to look into the youngster's eyes.
Written for the general audience, the book is an excellent starting point to educate
people about bonobos and to get them involved in the preservation of the species.
Although loss of habitat is not a critical problem for these primates, hunters are
a threat. No one knows the size of the wild bonobo population. Once estimated to
number 100,000, a population of 10,000 to 25,000 is now considered more realistic.
Unfortunately, a decline has been detected in the number of individuals at Wamba,
a research station in Zaire, and the bonobo is classified as "vulnerable to
extinction" by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature.
de Waal, a research professor at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta and professor of psychology at Emory University, was trained as an ethnologist in the European tradition. He draws upon his own research, the research of other primatologists, and the beautiful photography of Frans Lanting to give the readers a highly recommended introduction to the world of the bonobo.
The book is meant to whet the appetite, and it does. Unfortunately, once the reader is hungry for bonobo facts, this single volume cannot provide enough details and anecdotal examples of bonobo life. The reader is left wanting more.
Keena D. Lykins is an award-winning writer and editor.
Lest this overview of the sexual and erotic behavior of bonobos leave the impression of a pathologically oversexed species, I must add, based on hundreds of hours of watching bonobos, that their sexual activity is strikingly casual and relaxed. It seems a completely natural part of their social life. Also, even though the bonobo is a serious contender for the title of sex champion of the primate world, its sexiness should not be exaggerated. Bonobos do not, in fact, engage in sex all the time.
"Bonobo Sex and Society" - Frans de Waal's March 1995 article in Scientific American examines the gender roles within bonobo society and how they may relate to Homo sapiens social structures.
"Bonobo Society: Amicable, Amorous and Run by Females" - Natalie Angier's April 22, 1997 New York Times article on the bonobo and its similarities to humans.
Zoo Exhibits of Bonobos - sophisticated page cataloging captive bonobo populations, with links to zoo Web sites if available.
Georgia State University's Bonobo Protection Fund Web site includes several short articles on the species' endangerment. A Pan Africa News article from October 1995, "Economic Difficulties in Zaire and the Disappearing Taboo Against Hunting Bonobos in the Wamba Area," reports that the taboo against hunting the ape because "bonobo and men are like brothers" is being increasingly ignored as people search for food. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association proposes to save the bonobo through increasing captive breeding.
Bonobos! The Horniest Chimps on Earth - Web site of the Dr. Susan Block Bonobo Foundation, dedicated to preserving the species and using bonobo sexuality as model for human conflict resolution. There are colorful images and many bonobo links, some scurrilous, some serious. A racy RealAudio narrative, if you survive its ghastly introduction and its sultry ads for Block's book on sex, interviews Richard Wrangham, author of Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence (1995, Houghton Mifflin).
Primate Info Net - Primate Info Net is a site for people interested primatology jobs, journals, and general information. It is maintained by the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center Library at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
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