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This remarkable primate with the curious name is challenging
established views on human evolution. The bonobo, least known of
the great apes, is a female-centered, egalitarian species that has
been dubbed the 'make-love-not-war' primate by specialists. In
bonobo society, females form alliances to intimidate males, sexual
behavior (in virtually every partner combination) replaces
aggression and serves many social functions, and unrelated groups
mingle instead of fighting. The species' most striking achievement
is not tool use or warfare but sensitivity to others. In the first
book to combine and compare data from captivity and the field,
Frans de Waal, a world-renowned primatologist, and Frans Lanting,
an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer, present the
most up-to-date perspective available on the bonobo. Focusing on
social organization, de Waal compares the bonobo with its
better-known relative, the chimpanzee. The bonobo's relatively
nonviolent behavior and the tendency for females to dominate males
confront the evolutionary models derived from observing the
chimpanzee's male power politics, cooperative hunting, and
intergroup warfare. Further, the bonobo's frequent, imaginative
sexual contacts, along with its low reproduction rate, belie any
notion that the sole natural purpose of sex is procreation. Humans
share over 98 percent of their genetic material with the bonobo and
the chimpanzee. Is it possible that the peaceable bonobo has
retained traits of our common ancestor that we find hard to
recognize in ourselves? Eight superb full-color photo essays offer
a rare view of the bonobo in its native habitat in the rain forests
of Zaire as well as in zoos and research facilities. Additional
photographs and highlighted interviews with leading bonobo experts
complement the text. This book points the way to viable
alternatives to male-based models of human evolution and will add
considerably to debates on the origin of our species. Anyone
interested in primates, gender issues, evolutionary psychology, and
exceptional wildlife photography will find a fascinating companion
in "Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape".
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