Bonobo Research Paper

English I Honors
January 31 2013
Different Faces- Similar DNA: Humankind’s Closet Relative the Bonobo Most people wonder at one time in their life or another if we, the human species, are indeed really alone in this vast universe or if there’s some other intelligent, similar life form out there. What most people do not realize is that there is and it is right under their nose- Bonobos. This great ape species is one of humankind’s closest relatives, and we share about 96-98% of our DNA. (Latest News). “We 're so closely related genetically, yet our behavior is so different," says team member and computational biologist Janet Kelso of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. "This will allow us to look
The specific part of this tropical rainforest where they reside is called the Congo Basin; this fertile area is south of the Congo River and north of the Kasai River (Latest News). While in this tropical paradise Bonobos swing to and fro throughout the trees for most of the time. They dive, hang, jump, and swing all through the forest canopy. They also sometimes visit the forest floor; they do this for traveling long distances. While on the forest floor they walk on all fours or occasionally walk upright on two legs (Susman). Walking on two legs is something only humans and a few species of great apes are capable of
Usually humans do not reach sexual maturity until ages 11-15, and usually females marry in to the male’s family. Sexual activity has a major hand in the society of the Bonobos. It is used for a variety of reasons such as: pleasure, social bonding, and conflict resolution. They are very diverse in the sexual interactions; they don’t have long partnerships and have sex without paying any attention to age or gender. The only members that it is looked down upon if they have sexual relations are mother and son (Latest News). Humans use sexual relations in mostly the same ways but we do care about gender issues, unlike Bonobos. The total time period of gestation in Bonobos is pretty close to eight months. Throughout a female’s whole life they will only bear one child at a time very rarely will there be a set of twins (Mammals). So overall, as it turns out, Bonobos live lives quite similar to us. Whether it is dealing with similarities between DNA, food choices, physical appearance, vocals, or even other interactions among themselves, they are our closest living relatives. This may seem too good to be true that a species so genetically close to humankind is actually here on earth and not in some far away land. But you better believe it, because they are here to