Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape (Hardcover)

~ Frans B. M. de Waal (Author), Frans Lanting (Author) "When the lively, penetrating eyes lock with ours and challenge us to reveal who we are, we know right away that we are not looking..." (more)
Key Phrases: bonobo behavior, bonobo society, bonobo males, San Diego, Zaire River, Takayoshi Kano (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For Frans de Waal, man is not the only moral entity, as he made clear in his last book--Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals. The author has long been intrigued by chimpanzee politics and mores, and now he has turned his human heart and scientific mind to a species science has tended to celebrate solely for its sex drive. Bonobos may look like chimps, but they are actually even closer to us--far more upright, physically, for a start. Furthermore, where chimpanzees hunt, fight, and politic like mad, bonobos are peaceful, often ambisexual, and matriarchal. (Of course, hyenas are matriarchal too, but that's another story ...) De Waal's collaborator, Frans Lanting, has been photographing these gentle creatures for some years and augments the primatologist's explorations and interviews with hundreds of superb color shots. The penultimate picture is of bonobos crossing a road while schoolchildren stand watching, a short distance away. If, as the truism goes, all books about animal behavior are ultimately about us, this exploration of the bonobo may be a step in the right direction.

From Booklist

Bonobos, formerly called "pygmy chimpanzees," are the least known of the great apes. This wonderful book by a preeminent primatologist does much to introduce the general reader to one of our closest relatives. Covering studies undertaken both in captivity and in the species' natural habitat in Zaire, de Waal's riveting account compares bonobo behavior with that of the better-known chimpanzee and with humans. Complemented by Frans Lanting's coffee-table-quality photographs of wild and captive bonobos, the chapters cover the discovery of the bonobo (in 1929), its habitat and how it shaped the species' behavior, and the fears for the future of wild bonobos in an unstable region. Interviews with researchers provide a full picture of scientific studies, and extensive notes pertaining to each chapter explain many concepts in greater detail. This highly recommended book should be in all libraries. One minor warning: bonobos engage in all forms of sexual contact, and this behavior is fully explored in both the text and the photos. Nancy Bent

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520205359
• ISBN-13: 978-0520205352
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #872,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fine effort by de Waal, May 12, 2004

By	magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape (Paperback)

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.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to long lost relative, April 26, 2001

By	Ed Gibbon www.congocookbook.com (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape (Paperback)

Say "ape" and people think of chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. Most have never heard of the bonobo, the forgotten ape. No wonder. The bonobo was one of the last large mammals to be scientifically classified. Long confused with chimpanzees, it was declared a distinct species only in the 1930s. There are very few bonobos in the wild, and far fewer in zoos. But bonobos are, as is made very clear in this book, very different from chimpanzees, especially in their family and social structures and, to be most frank about it, their sexual habits. I will leave more detail to the author, world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal. This is a very interesting and well written book, with much to say about apes, and much food for thought about our own species. It includes many excellent photographs by Frans Lanting.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is interesting to speculate on human history, October 21, 2000

By	J. Alexander (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos evolved from a common ancestor. Humans have characteristics of both animals, plus some unique characteristics. By studying two of our nearest relatives, we gain insight into our past.

The social structure of chimpanzees and bonobos are very different. Chimps have a male dominated culture, while bonobos have a female dominated culture where infanticide is unknown. Human leaders tend to be male, but we have some bonobo features. Humans have sex for reasons other than procreation and we have empathy.