Hey everyone, check this out:
Wild bonobo mother ape eats own infant in DR Congo
By Matt Walker
Editor, Earth News |
A wild bonobo has been seen cannibalising her own recently deceased two and a half-year-old infant
this result is amazing.
nothing like this has been ever been seen like this before, that I know of, but Gottfried’s work is excellent, so this is super exciting. just last year they saw meat eating in bonobos, which had also never been seen before.
i wonder if the infant was killed by a high ranking male.
we’ve never seen anything like this in the sanctuary. the last time I saw an infant die, the mother held onto it for days and the keepers had trouble taking the body away.
results like gottfried’s illustrate the complexity of bonobo social behavior and the necessity of further research on thee amazing creatures.
Nsomi, the first born at the release site, is quite fascinated with Motema – the latest addition to the release group. (I just love Nsomi’s little face btw… i just want to pinch those cheeks!!)
Nsomi is always touching Motema, softly patting her head or gently stroking her face.
Hopefully the two will become fast friends and look out for each other in the wild forests of Congo.
This just came out in New Scientist. Not only was the work done by our research group, but it was also done at Lola!
Don’t forget to watch the totally cute video of Eleke and Sake! and the bonobo in the photo is Semendwa!
Sharing apes: what bonobos have in common with us
If you were drawing up a guest list for an animal dinner party, sex-mad bonobos might not be your first choice, especially as they have recently been shown to cannibalise their own offspring.
But at least they will share food with strangers.
Till now it was thought that humans were the only primates to share food in this way. Chimps, for example, won’t do it. But Brian Hare of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Suzy Kwetuenda of the Lola Ya Bonobo refuge for orphaned bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have now shows that bonobos will also “freely” share.
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The village people are being very positive for supporting the project. when i was there, the villagers oragnised their own ‘welcome’ party for Suzy (who is running the release site at the moment), they all came, drums, dancing and singing, to celebrate the coming of Suzy. They were generous in giving lots of presents, such as sugar cane and chickens, something especially touching when it comes from people with so little
Just wanted to take a moment to celebrate that the bonobos at the release site are going so well!! 2 babies!! it’s absolutely wonderful.
Both the ladies Etumbe and Lukaya were pregnant before they went to the release site and the fact that they gave birth so effortlessly just goes to show how well they are adapting to their new home.
Next step – a real wild baby – conceived and given birth at Ekolo – that is the sign that a release project is REALLY successful – that the bonobos are reproducing.
fingers crossed!
The bonobos are becoming quite the foragers in the forest!
Here’s some of the fruit bonobos eat there. They love these red fruits, Tondolo! They find them in the forest too.
All those anxious Lomela mothers – here is some news from Zannah:
‘Here’s just a few more pics- one of your favourite little forest lady Lomela. Lomela is on great form up there. When she arrived she was pretty nervous, it was a big change! But now she’s grown much more confident. But she understands about not approaching people anymore, she respects distance. But its a bit of a different story when she’s up in the trees, there she really gets picks up her cheekiness, selecting appropriate branches and leaves to shake, there is always a shower of debris when Lomela is above you in the trees!’
Claudine, for those of you who don’t know, is the heart and soul of Lola. Born in Belgium, she has lived in Congo since she was 3, and she is known throughout Kinshasa for her fiery red hair.
I have never in my life met a more selfless, kind, dedicated person. She is a real inspiration. That’s all.
ok, i’m a bit out of the loop – Lola has a new orphan and I don’t know their name! Or their story! Have written to ask, even thought I know her story will be the same as everyone else’s story – her mother was shot by poachers, and she was taken from her mother’s body to be sold, either in Congo or int eh black market to US, Europe, or the Middle East.
The ministry confiscated the orphan and sent her to Lola, where she now has a new chance.
Isn’t she adorable! i just want to hug her!
Donations made here are
Feb 1st Baerbel W USD 70.00