#Bonobo chimpanzee series

to evolve) A process by which species undergo changes over time, usually through genetic variation and natural selection. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.Įndangered: An adjective used to describe species at risk of going extinct.Įquator: An imaginary line around Earth that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.Įvolution: (v. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. These include a larger brain, greater mental abilities (including being able to talk) and their ability to walk on two legs.īehavior: The way something, often a person or other organism, acts towards others, or conducts itself.ĭNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. Most people tend to group humans into their own separate subcategory owing to a number of special traits. They include gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gibbons and humans. (antonym: descendant)Īpe: A group of rather large primates, all of which lack a tail. For instance, ancient dinosaurs are the ancestors of today's birds. Or it could be a species, genus, family or other order of organisms from which some later one evolved. It could be a family forebearer, such as a parent, grandparent or great-great-great grandparent. aggressiveness) Quick to fight or argue, or forceful in making efforts to succeed or win.Īncestor: A predecessor. These and other discoveries about chimps and bonobos can teach us more about the human story.Īggressive: (n. That may mean humans inherited this ability from the ancestor they share with chimps and bonobos. Before learning to “speak,” chimps and bonobos use gestures to indicate what they want. Those are symbols that represent different words. In captivity, both chimps and bonobos have been taught to communicate using lexigrams. One chimp named Ayumu famously trounced humans at a memory game, while another named Washoe learned to use sign language. Humans’ ape cousins are clever creatures. Bonobos don’t face that competition in their neck of the woods, so they can probably afford to be less aggressive. That means competing with those bigger apes for food and other resources.

These apes can be especially violent toward unfamiliar chimps. Groups of chimps are led by males and prone to fighting. And they’re often happy to groom and share food with bonobos they just met.

They love to play silly games and show affection. Groups of bonobos are led by females and generally peaceful. Perhaps the most striking difference between chimps and bonobos is their behavior.

#Bonobo chimpanzee series

See all the entries from our Let’s Learn About series People have hunted many of these apes and cut down the forests where they live. Chimpanzees are found across Africa near the equator. Wild bonobos live only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. And their faces are usually black, while chimp faces can be black or tan. Today, both ape species share about 98.7 percent of their DNA with humans.Ĭhimps and bonobos look a lot alike. The other split into chimps and bonobos about 1 million years ago. About 6 million years ago, an ancestor ape species split into two groups. In the animal family tree, chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest living cousins.