February 14th
World Bonobo Day
It is no coincidence that World Bonobo Day falls on the day of love. Bonobos are a matriarchal society with a much more relaxed family dynamic than the other three great ape species. Group conflicts are usually resolved through non-aggressive behavior, probably due to female dominance. Males are in lower positions than all the females in the troop and work together as a family rather than one dominant male. Known as hippie apes, they tend to "make love, not war".
The bonobo chimpanzee, also known as the pygmy chimpanzee, is one of two species in the genus Pan, the other being the common chimpanzee. It is found in Central Africa and primarily feeds on plants, supplemented with small invertebrates and occasionally vertebrates. Bonobos live in social groups with strong social bonds, and sexual behavior plays a significant role in their relationships. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as an endangered species. Bonobos are the closest living relatives of humans, sharing 98.7% of their DNA with us. They are found in a small part of the forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are critically endangered, with less than 30,000 individuals in the wild. Deforestation and habitat loss due to coltan mining pose a threat to bonobo populations. Coltan is a mineral found in electronics, such as batteries. One simple way to help bonobos is to recycle your electronics, especially mobile phones and laptops. Recycling these devices keeps coltan in circulation and reduces the demand for its extraction from the wild.
