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The bonobo is a species of great ape and part of the Hominidae family. There are eight extant (living) species, consisting of the bonobo, the closely related chimpanzee<\/a>, two species of gorilla<\/a>, three species of orangutan<\/a>, and humans.<\/p>\n Bonobos are found only within the Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Visually and genetically there isn\u2019t much between the two great apes. Chimpanzees and bonobos share approximately 99.6% of their DNA and can be hard to tell apart. In fact, bonobos were once thought to be merely smaller versions, and called pygmy chimpanzees.<\/p>\n To the trained eye, bonobos are more graceful and slender, with differently shaped and coloured faces. You are also more likely to see them walking on two legs.<\/p>\n However, it is in their social systems that you really see divergence. Rather than having a strict male hierarchy like chimps, they are a matriarchal society: the girls very much rule the bonobo world. Groups are generally led by an alpha female, females almost always have a higher social standing than males, and males derive their status from that of their mother.<\/p>\n Bonobos are also much more sexual, using \u2018sexual contact\u2019 to greet friends, de-escalate conflicts and cement relationships. They are the apes who make love not war!<\/p>\n Q&A <\/em>answered by Leoma Williams<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nWhere are bonobos found?<\/h2>\n
More on primates:\u00a0<\/h4>\n
What is the difference between a chimp and a bonobo?<\/h2>\n