Many people get confused and think that bonobos are just small, or pigmy, chimps - but they aren’t. The two apes became separate species about 2 million years ago and while they do have many similarities, they are noticeably different. Here’s how:

• Bonobos are thinner, have smaller heads and ears than chimps - and their straight black hair parts right down the middle of their heads.
• Bonobo faces are black from birth, with pink lips, and chimpanzee infants have light faces.
• Chimps hunt and eat small animals while bonobos do not.
• Bonobos only live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while chimps are found throughout western and central Africa.
• Bonobos easily walk upright; chimps walk primarily on all fours.
• Bonobos live in a matriarchal society where the top female is the leader of the group. Chimps have a patriarchal society where the males rule.
• While bonobos fight sometimes, they solve their tensions with touch and food, and there has been no documentation of them killing each other. Chimpanzees do fight and actually wage war in their societies.
• In bonobo societies, sons form strong bonds with their mothers that last into adulthood. In chimp societies, it’s the daughters and the mothers that have the lasting bond.
• There are currently 203,000 chimpanzees living in the wild, and only an estimated 10,000 bonobos.

Can you guess which picture is the bonobo and which is the chimpanzee?

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