bonobo

American  

[buh-noh-boh] / bəˈnoʊ boʊ /

noun

plural

bonobos

1. a small chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, primarily of swamp forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, having long legs, black face, pink lips, and parted hair on its head: an endangered species.

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bonobo British  

/ ˈbɒnəbəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: pygmy chimpanzee.  an anthropoid ape, Pan paniscus , of central W Africa: similar to the chimpanzee but much smaller and having a black face

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Etymology

Origin of bonobo

First recorded in 1950–55; origin uncertain; probably from a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Explanation

A bonobo is an African ape that's slightly smaller than a chimpanzee. Known for being timid and peaceful, bonobo groups are also matriarchal, led by females. Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are our closest relatives, sharing 98.7 percent of their DNA with humans. These apes are native to a small region in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where their existence is threatened by deforestation and poaching. Bonobo most likely derives from a misspelling of the Congolese town of Bolobo printed on a shipping crate. Before being recognized as a separate species and given a distinct name, they were called pygmy chimpanzees.

Example Sentences

To examine how males respond to this unreliable signal, researchers observed a wild bonobo community at Wamba in the Luo Scientific Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

From Science Daily • Dec. 14, 2025

Similar findings were also reported in another study with a bonobo, in which the bonobo was also able to synchronize its drum beats to a human in the experiment.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

By contrast, Berthet notes that bonobo communication focuses mostly on getting the group together.

From Salon • May 29, 2025

He used statistical techniques to reconcile these differences and provide estimates for bonobo populations across the entire range of Salonga, including areas previously unstudied.

From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024

The guidelines on how to keep a young bonobo healthy are pretty short: When they’re with their mothers, they’re happy and healthy; when they’re not with their mothers, they begin to die.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer