Endangered
End of Primate Week
These used to be thought of as pygmy chimpanzees, but they are completely different species and in 1954 were given the name Bonobo. The Bonobo is generally smaller and more daintily built than a chimpanzee. A chimp can get up to 5'5" tall, while the biggest Bonobo gets up to about 3' tall. They are known for being altruistic and have empathy. They are one of the few animals that find yawns contagious (which is tied to empathy). Unlike chimpanzees, they don't really have a dominant male in charge. In fact the male status comes from their mother's status. They are endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The biggest threats are habitat loss for palm oil plantations, and poaching for bushmeat.
Ok, doing today's post today, as I should. The thing is, I need to get cracking and finish the commission I have coming up. So, unusually for me I am going to keep this extra short. I would love to have a chance to yawn in front of a Bonobo and see if it yawns back. As with humans, not all of them will find a yawn contagious. I just have to think the word yawn and I start yawning. You can't see me, but I've yawned about 5 times just while typing this paragraph. It makes me tired, so I'm going to eat a bit of dark chocolate or something to temporarily wake myself up again (and there was another yawn) so I can get the majority of the commission done tonight.
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