Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape
by Frans B. M. de Waal, Frans Lanting
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Book Reviews of Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape
Book Review: Gentle apes in the heart of darkness...and they are politically correct, too!
Summary: 4 Stars
Who could imagine that there are gentle apes living in the very heart of darkness, north-central Congo-Kinshasa, somewhere around Colonel Kurtz' proverbial hunting grounds? :-)
"Bonobo. The Forgotten Ape" is a popularized book about the least known great ape. The bonobo wasn't officially discovered by science until 1929. There had been bonobos in captivity before that time, but scientists assumed they were chimpanzees, albeit very gentle and very smart ones! For a long time, the bonobo was mostly studied by German scientists who published their findings in obscure journals such as "Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen". The Anglo-Saxon scientific community didn't pay much attention until the 1970's and 1980's, and even then, much of the research was carried out by Japanese scientists, rather than Westerners. To the general public, bonobos are probably still quite unknown. I heard of bonobos already as a kid, but I assumed they were simply a smaller subspecies of chimp. Back then, bonobos were known as "Pygmy Chimpanzees". Curiously, the myth of the killer ape never reached my neighbourhood, so I grew up assuming that chimps were peaceful. They are not. Bonobos, however, are. Which finally brings us to the reason why these apes are so interesting!
Bonobos and chimpanzees are closely related, and both of them are equally close to humans. Yet, the two species are very different. To simplify somewhat, chimpanzees are patriarchal, aggressive, heterosexual and carnivorous. Bonobos, by contrast, are matriarchal, peaceful, bisexual and near-vegan! Politically correct apes? Who ever heard of such a thing? Since both chimps and bonobos are equally closely related to humans, this makes it harder to claim that humans are necessarily patriarchal or aggressive "by nature". Indeed, some scientists believe that "the missing link" may have more closely resembled a bonobo than a chimp. While none of this proves much in and of itself, it's nevertheless intriguing. Of course, the trait bonobos are mostly known for, is that they have sex for non-reproductive reasons, including "gay" and "lesbian" sex. Unfortunately, they also practice paedophilia.
"Bonobo. The Forgotten Ape" contains seven chapters summarizing the bonobo basics. It contains interviews with scientists studying the bonobos, both those living in the jungles of the Congo, and those preferring the relative safety of American zoos. The text is easy to read, but could perhaps have been better written or edited. (Yes, I'm a perfectionist, and Frans de Waal's books, although interesting, tend to fall short of my splendidly high standards.)
The best part of the book are Frans Lanting's full-color photos. Since the book is almost coffee table format, this makes it a worthwhile buy for every nature-lover, photo-lover or ape-lover, including those too busy to read the text! The most exciting photos are those showing the bonobos in almost erect position, standing on two legs. In bipedal position, the bonobos look almost human, especially the females.
You get the feeling that they are us, and that we are indeed the third chimpanzee. Or the second bonobo...
Book Review: Our Gentle Cousins
Summary: 5 Stars
In the popular imagination, the word "ape" conjures a brutish image, evoking a bestial human past in which life contained little more than the ruthless struggle for dominance. Until relatively recently, our knowledge of our genetic cousins seemed to confirm this picture; most apes, including chimps, have strongly hierarchical societies characterized by male dominance and frequent power struggles. The bonobo, however, has shattered scientists' assumptions about primate behavior. This book provides a fascinating glimpse into the complex lives of these gentle apes.
If bonobos could chant slogans, they would probably be imploring us to "make love, not war." Physically, bonobos differ little from other chimps, except for their smaller size. Yet their social lives are remarkably different. Although males are larger and capably of physically dominating females, female bonobos enjoy dominance within a relaxed, relatively fluid hierarchy. Unlike chimps, which can be quite violent toward members of their own species, bonobos are adept at resolving conflicts. Mostly, they achieve this through sexual behavior that would make any fundamentalist preacher turn purple (including homosexuality). Both in the wild and in captivity, they display a level of emotional intelligence that is amazing to find in a nonhuman animal, which the book documents through striking, often humorous anecdotes.
De Waal offers an intriguing discussion of how the bonobo's unique society may have evolved. Interestingly, he postulates that females became promiscuous, bonded with other females, and developed nearly year-round displays of sexual receptivity in order to counter the male habit of infanticide that sometimes occurs in chimps. Since females banded together to defend each other (and each other's offspring), and since males had no way of telling which offspring was their own, infanticide apparently disappeared. Meanwhile, as a result of their bonding, females became dominant.
Lanting's photos are striking, most of all because of the humanlike quality that comes through in so many of them. There is an astonishing...moving, in fact...familiarity in their facial expressions, intelligent eyes, gestures, and postures.
It is deeply tragic that this species, like so many, is threatened with possible extinction. Even though we have much more to learn about bonobos, their behavior raises thought-provoking questions about "human nature" and where we come from. Perhaps the "ape within" has a capacity for not only violence and patriarchy, but for cooperation and female influence as well.
Book Review: Beautiful Bonobo
Summary: 5 Stars
Frans De Waal, a primatologist, and Frans Lanting, a wildlife photographer, combine their expertise to make this an extraordinary book. It is written in third person, research style. It is a larger size book which makes the photos rich, life-like, and endearing like the baby bonobo thumb-sucking, and a mom playing "airplane" laying down with her baby held skyward on her feet, and many more.
There are only about 100 bonobos in captivity, and although bonobos breed well in captivity, this small number does not offer enough genetic variety to hold any promise, even when individuals are loaned out from one zoo to another. Bonobos, whose home is in Zaire, Africa, are estimated to number 10,000 - 25,000. Local taboos on killing bonobos help discourage some poaching, but an increase in poison arrows and use of snare traps are difficult for authorities to fight against. Even in the "heart" of bonobo rainforest, there are more people habitating than the total number of estimated bonobos.
Bonobos have a unique quality; it's that of empathy. Bonobos do not typically fight, but have other ways to solve intense moments; they engage in sex in a manner that helps relieve anxiety. Their use of sex is clearly not just for breeding, is by mutual consent, and is engaged in with the same or opposite sex.
Infanticide is not known among bonobos. Because of bonobos' social use of sex and the females' long period of estrus, the male does not have a way to detect if a baby is indeed his or not. Bonobos are peaceful in comparably large groups, and females hold high status in bonobos' matriarchal society.
Frans de Waal has the talent of sharing fine detail in an exquisite manner. His explanations are scientific and all jargon is defined in context. The photographs all have "purpose" and show what is talked about by the author. I highly recommend this book.
Book Review: Another fine effort by de Waal
Summary: 5 Stars
Most people are familiar with chimps but few have heard of the bonobo, but we resemble them behaviorally more than any of the other great apes. Also I recall reading once that we have the greatest genetic similarity to bonobos. I forget the exact figure, but humans share something like 99.5 percent of their genetic material with bonobos.De Waal teamed up with internationally acclaimed nature photographer Hans Lanting to produce not only a very scholarly but very readable and interesting book, and a visually very striking one as well.
There are many similarities between bonobo behavior and humans, and ways in which they differ from other apes. Females have higher social standing in bonobo society compared to chimps, and high-ranking males never stay that way for long unless they have the support of at least a high-ranking female or two.
Females also cooperate more than in other apes. They have been observed working together to drive off an aggressive male, which doesn't happen in chimps. Females are also very social, and seek to establish alliances with other males. This can come in handy in various ways. For example, during the mating season, if a a male the female doesn't like wants to mate, she can effectively rebuff his attempts by getting her other male friends to come to her aid. They even resemble us in their sexual behavior, since they are the only ape observed to use the missionary position during sex, which they do about half the time.
This is just a small sample of the many interesting and thought-provoking things I picked up from reading this book. Overall, a fascinating and very visually appealing presentation on this little-known and understood relative among the great apes.
Book Review: Our Oft Overlooked Cousins
Summary: 5 Stars
When I bought this book, I anticipated that I'd mostly look at the pictures, read a few captions, and that'd be it. I was pleasantly surprised that the book makes for a very good, and fairly fast, read.
The book is a combination of anecdotal field researcher observations, scientific theory, known facts, and lots of great pictures. The history of the bonobo is touched up, including how it was relatively recently "discovered" to be a separate species from chimpanzees. Bonobo social interaction is thoroughly discussed as well, and they have a very complex social life.
Of course no book about bonobos would be complete without delving into their sex lives, and that is discussed as well, along with a few pretty wild pictures. Over all I am pleased with the book, and am glad to add it to my library.
*** The only nit-pick I have about the book is not about the writing, but the book itself. More specifically the construction. They used thick, heavy pages, which causes the spine of the book to break and separate quite easily from the cover when you open it up to read. Once I got about 1/4 of the way through the book, I found my cover to be falling off. Nothing to do with the quality of the writing or pictures, which is why I still gave it 5 stars, but just something to be aware of if you plan on purchasing it used. ***