Bonobo Conservation Programs
Aiding Humanity’s Closest Great Ape Relative in the Congo
The bonobo (Pan paniscus) is the smallest of the great apes and the last to be identified as a separate species. It was long considered a subspecies of the chimpanzee. But there are major differences between the two, which include the bonobo’s less aggressive lifestyle and a stronger matriarchal influence on troop life. Present knowledge indicates that this is the closest of the primate species to humans. And it is very vulnerable to extinction.
Bonobo Habitat and Threats
The bonobo lives in an extremely limited habitat, a lowland forest and swamp area bounded by the Congo, Sankuru and Kasai Rivers. Mining, deforestation from logging and the bushmeat trade all threaten its long-term existence. Ongoing national struggles have meant that research into this great ape have been severely restricted. From 1966 to 2003 there was no access to the area where the bonobos live.
For many years the bonobo was partially protected by a local taboo on eating them, based on legends of bonobo helping humans. In recent years, however, foreigners coming into the area have encouraged the people to eat them as a good source of protein, ending this important protection.
The DRC has the great fortune, and misfortune, to have reserves of petroleum, copper, uranium, gold, diamonds and coltan. Mining and petroleum exploration are likely to cut heavily into what is left of the bush. Pollution from mining activities will add to the problems facing its inhabitants, both human and nonhuman primate.
Bonobo Conservation Programs
The Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP) has mapped out priority areas for preventing the extinction of the bonobo. Of these areas, only the Salonga Reserve has full protected status. Efforts will now be concentrated on conserving other bonobo strongholds.
A different approach is being used by the Bonobo Conservation Initiative. The Bonobo Peace Forest, a cluster of community-based reserves and protected areas with supporting areas of sustainable development is continuing to grow. Wildlife corridors link the reserves areas and buffer zones protect both the communities and the wildlife. Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve was the pilot unit, with the largest known bonobo population. Schools and medical clinics are included in the development of the communities in addition to sustainable agriculture and small businesses.
Just a short distance from Kinshasa a sanctuary, Lola Ya Bonobo, is home to displaced, injured and orphaned bonobo. Founded in 1994, the sanctuary maintains semi-natural groups of bonobo and is now in the process of attempting to reintroduce some animals into the forest. This process will take some time as genetic testing and health evaluations need to be completed before the bonobos can be moved to the forest without endangering wild primates in the area. A post-release monitoring program will evaluate both individual animals and the overall success of the reintroduction.
The situation in the DRC is not good but with the continued efforts of various national and international organizations the bonobo may stave off extinction for a while longer.
Additional Source:
Raffaele, Paul. The Smart and Swinging Bonobo. Smithsonian Magazine Vol 37, Number 8. Nov.2006
Bonobos
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