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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
A young female bonobo relaxes in the forest at Lui Kotale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her lips are orange from eating clay, probably to counter plant toxins in her diet.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
A mother known as Paula carries her tiny daughter, Prisca. As she approaches adulthood, Prisca will likely disperse to another bonobo community. Sons retain long-term bonds with their mothers.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
The bonobo, once called the pygmy chimpanzee, is a unique species of ape, native only to forests on the left bank of the Congo River. Recent research casts new light on their sexual and other behavior.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
Gottfried Hohmann, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, has studied bonobos in Congo for more than 20 years. At Lui Kotale, his research site outside Salonga National Park, he and other researchers wear surgical masks to protect against possible transmission of human infections to the bonobos.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
A sampling of the menu at Lui Kotale: The big green globe at upper left is African breadfruit. At upper right are stalks from arrowroot, an herby terrestrial plant of the Marantaceae family. At bottom left is a cluster of five booso fruit, and at bottom right a junglesop, delectable to people as well as bonobos.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
A male known as Camillo eats a tender young leaf of the kfumo tree. The abundance of palatable herby vegetation in forests of the river’s left bank, with no gorillas competing for it, allows bonobos to enjoy relatively calm and stable social groupings.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
An adult male, Ben, grooms Wilma, a young adult female. The effort Ben invests in grooming her may benefit him later if she chooses to mate with him.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
The vast Congo River, comprising many large and small channels, has been an impassable barrier between bonobos and their ape kin. Chimps and gorillas live only on the right bank, bonobos only on the left.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
Zoe shares a junglesop fruit with her son Zizu and another youngster, while an adult male waits hopefully for a handout. Food sharing is part of bonobo social politics, reflecting nuances of status and alliances.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
A female rests in a day nest at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, established by the Bonobo Conservation Initiative in partnership with the local community and the Congo government. The reserve brings hope of tourism dollars.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
Bonobo youngsters such as Zizu, here playing with a sibling, are born black-faced, unlike chimps, which are born with pink faces that gradually darken. Bonobo limbs remain slender as they mature, not so thick and burly as chimps.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
Tranquil and protective, Zoe cuddles Zizu after nursing him. Male bonobos, unlike chimps, do not form same-sex coalitions to achieve power; from infancy to adulthood, a boy’s best friend is his mother.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler
The youngster Ulrich rides his mother, Uma, to the next foraging site. Bonobos spend much of their time on the ground, enjoying exclusive access to plant foods that on the right bank of the Congo are claimed by gorillas.
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