Bonobos are a species of great ape that is native to the Congo Basin in Central Africa. They are the closest living relatives of humans and are distinguished from other great apes by their long legs, slim build, and relatively small body size. Bonobos are predominantly herbivorous, but also eat small amounts of meat. They live in social groups comprising both sexes, which cooperate to care for offspring and defend their territories. Although bonobos have been known to science since 1929, little was known about them until the last two decades of the 20th century when field studies began to be conducted.
Bonobos are an endangered species. The primary threats to their survival include habitat destruction and hunting for bushmeat. There is estimated to be only around 29,500 individuals remaining in the wild as of 2019.
The name “bonobo” first appeared in print in 1954, when American zoologist Edmund Redfield-Wilson used it in reference to a juvenile female he had observed at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. He chose the name because it sounded similar to “pygmy chimpanzee”, another African ape that was then considered a subspecies of common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). However, subsequent research has shown that bonobos are more closely related to common chimpanzees than they are to pygmy chimpanzees; they split from the common ancestor of both species around one million years ago. The use of “bonobo” as a common name for this species became widespread after it was popularized by primatologist Frans de Waal’s 1986 book Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes.