Chimpanzee vs Bonobo: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between chimpanzees and bonobos is social behavior: chimpanzee society is male-dominated and can be violent, while bonobo society is led by females and is more peaceful, with sex widely used to ease tension. Bonobos are slimmer, with dark faces and pink lips, and live only south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
| Chimpanzee | Bonobo | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Pan troglodytes | Pan paniscus |
| Lifespan | 30–40 years in the wild, for animals that reach adulthood | 30–40 years (estimated) in the wild; estimated, as few wild bonobos have been followed for life |
| Weight | 27–70 kg (60–155 lb) | 30–60 kg (66–132 lb) |
| Size | 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft) (height) | 1.0–1.2 m (3.3–3.9 ft) (height) |
| Top speed | about 40 km/h (25 mph) | — |
| Gestation / incubation | about 230 days (7.5–8 months) | about 8 months (240 days) |
| Diet | Omnivore | Omnivore |
| Family | Hominidae | Hominidae |
| Habitat | Tropical rainforest, Montane forest, Woodland, Savanna-forest mosaic | Lowland rainforest, Swamp forest, Forest-savanna mosaic |
| IUCN status | Endangered | Endangered |
Figures shown are for the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus).
Key differences
Who is in charge
In chimpanzee communities, adult males form a strict hierarchy, compete hard for alpha status and dominate all females. In bonobo groups, females form strong alliances with one another and collectively outrank males, even though they are smaller. A male bonobo's status depends heavily on his mother, who may intervene in his disputes.
Conflict
Male chimpanzees patrol the borders of their territory, and groups of them sometimes attack and kill individuals from neighboring communities. Lethal raids of this kind have not been observed in bonobos. Bonobos do squabble, and males can be aggressive toward one another, but meetings between neighboring groups often lead to grooming, play and mating.
Sexual behavior
Bonobos are famous for using sexual contact as a social tool. It occurs in nearly every combination of age and sex and serves to greet, reconcile, share food peacefully and bond, especially among females. In chimpanzees, sex is more closely tied to reproduction and to the female's fertile period, and males compete or coerce to gain access.
Appearance
Bonobos have a slimmer, more gracile build, with narrower shoulders, longer legs and a smaller head. Their faces are black from birth, with reddish-pink lips, and the hair on the head is often neatly parted down the middle. Chimpanzee infants have pale faces that darken with age. Adult bonobos also keep the white tail tuft that chimpanzees lose.
Range
The Congo River is the dividing line. Bonobos live only in the rainforests south of the river, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Chimpanzees live north of it and across a broad belt of West, Central and East Africa, in habitats from rainforest to dry savanna woodland. The two never meet in the wild.
Tools and hunting
Wild chimpanzees use an impressive toolkit, including termite-fishing probes, leaf sponges and stone hammers for nuts, and males hunt monkeys in groups. Wild bonobos rarely use tools for feeding, although captive ones learn readily. Bonobos do eat meat, such as small antelope called duikers, and females take part in the hunt and control the sharing.
How to tell them apart
- A black face with pink lips, even on an infant, indicates a bonobo.
- Hair parted down the middle of the head and long side whiskers suggest a bonobo.
- Bonobos look slender and long-legged; chimpanzees look stockier, with broader shoulders and a larger head.
- Bonobo calls are high-pitched peeps and squeals, while chimpanzees give loud, lower pant-hoots.
What they have in common
Chimpanzees and bonobos are the two species of the genus Pan and are each other's closest relatives, having diverged between one and two million years ago. They are equally our closest living relatives, sharing nearly 99 percent of their DNA with humans. Both live in fission–fusion communities, knuckle-walk, build tree nests each night, and are listed as Endangered.
Frequently asked questions
Are bonobos a type of chimpanzee?
No, they are a separate species, Pan paniscus. Bonobos were once called 'pygmy chimpanzees,' but that name is misleading, since they are about as tall as chimpanzees, just more lightly built. They were recognized as a distinct species only in 1929, from a skull in a Belgian museum.
Can chimpanzees and bonobos interbreed?
Yes, in principle. The two species are closely related, and hybrids have been reported in captivity. Genetic studies also show that some interbreeding occurred in the wild in the distant past. Today the Congo River keeps the wild populations apart, because neither ape swims.
Which is more closely related to humans?
Neither. Chimpanzees and bonobos split from each other long after their common ancestor split from the human lineage, so both are equally related to us. Each species shares some traits with humans that the other lacks, which makes both valuable for understanding human evolution.
Are bonobos really peaceful?
More peaceful than chimpanzees, but not entirely. Bonobos have never been seen killing one another, and neighboring groups can mingle calmly. However, field studies have found that male bonobos are frequently aggressive toward other males, and females may gang up on a male that harasses them.