About Bonobos

About Bonobos

Animal models a core part of scientific purposes in the examination or manipulation of genetic, behavioral, or physiological aspects concerning human diseases, conditions, and other problems. The use of animals as models is made possible because of the remarkable physiological and anatomical similarities between animals, especially mammals and human beings, especially and has enabled researchers to investigate various mechanisms and come up with the most suiting therapies applicable to humans. The essence of animal models is based on relatable studies, which can be applied to solve issues facing humankind.

Although mistaken, bonobos and chimpanzees are of two different species existing in the same genus. It has been established that they are about 99 percent genetically similar but express differences in appearance and social behaviors. Their response to different situations is an aspect that is striking in all studies concerning their social behavior. Chimpanzees are generally aggressive and ferocious, and more often, they tend to pick fights with one another. Chimpanzee fights are always deadly, mostly ending in the death of the looser – a form of indecency to their kind. Bonobos, on the other hand, exhibit high levels of neuropeptide hormone called vasopressin, which limits their aggressive behavior and strengthens their social abilities. Another striking difference between bonobos and chimpanzees is in the manner in which they govern their societies. Chimpanzees are organized so that an alpha male becomes the leader tending to maintain order through aggression. In contrast, in the social order of bonobos, the females’ dominate, and vis supported primarily through sex.

In a test aimed at determining the most caring and cooperative between chimpanzees and bonobos, two chimpanzees and two bonobos were used, and in the test, each pair was locked in a cell and a board of food placed outside the cells. A rope was placed under the board accessible to the two animals in each cell. The drill was that in pulling together the rope from each end and at the same time, they would eventually get the food closer, and they could eat. The test results revealed that chimpanzees were quite selfish and did not trust each other and thus did not work together to bring the food closer while the bonobos pulled the role in unison, getting the food closer to them. The essence of the test performed on the pairs of chimpanzees and bonobos outlined that bonobos are caring and cooperative compared to the chimpanzees. The lack of trust and selfishness among the chimpanzees limited their cooperation to bring food closer.

Further bonobos express more curiosity compared to chimpanzees that are easily frightened by the presence of strangers. Another test in this context was performed to determine the reaction between chimpanzees and bonobos in the presence of strangers. The test resulted indicated that bonobos would become curious and fond of strangers within a short time. Chimpanzees, on the other hand, quickly become terrified in the presence of strangers. The aspect of being easily frightened by strangers is associated with the fact that the right side of the chimpanzee brain is associated with fright and flight and is easily associated when they feel threatened by a stranger (Rilling et al. 22). The two studies reveal that bonobos exhibit more human-like social behavior compared to chimpanzees.

The sexual behavior of bonobos is part and parcel of their social relations. They engage in sexual activities in literally every partner combination – however, sexual contact between close family members may be limited. The sexual interactions between the bonobos occur more often than in other primates. From the above tests, it was observed that immediately the food was consumed, the bonobos engaged in sexual activities. Despite their high frequency in sexual engagements, their reproduction rate in the jungle is almost the same as that of the chimpanzees (Rilling et al. 32). It has been established that a female bonobo is capable of giving birth to an infant between five to six-year intervals. Therefore, bonobos share a significant trait similar to human species, that is, the partial separation between reproduction and sex.

Early human behavior is quite distinct from that of bonobos. Research studies indicate that early humans had more food requirement capacities compared to the bonobos, and thus the humans practiced higher hunting tendencies, unlike the bonobos. Additionally, in the aspect of social behavior, bonobos score higher than humans in the sense that no all humans are cooperative and would like each other compared to the bonobos. Humans, depending on circumstances, might hurt or kill each other, unlike bonobos, which are less harmful creatures incapable of harming their peers. It is, therefore, evident that bonobos are more closely related to human beings in different aspects, including their social and sexual behaviors. However, more research into early human behaviors would reveal more in terms of discretions between the two species.