News and Stories

On February 14th, some of us may celebrate a day that is dedicated to love and affection. We might purchase beautiful flowers, candies, and even exchange Valentine’s Day cards for those we care about deeply. In The Jungle Trails department at the zoo, we acknowledge and appreciate Valentine’s Day, but we are also celebrating an entire ape species… BONOBOS, on World Bonobo Day!

Bonobos, once called pygmy chimps, are the smallest of the great ape species. Like chimpanzees, they share 98.7% of our DNA. But unlike gorillas or chimpanzees, bonobos are a matriarchal society. They are female lead, and female bonds take priority over male bonds. Within the bonobo society, one trait that sticks out the most is their sexual behavior; Bonobos are known for a “make love, not war” lifestyle. They will utilize sexual behavior to not only reduce high tension (whether it be from fear or general excitement), but also to reinforce troop social statuses. In short, sexual behaviors decrease any and all tensions within their troop to try and prevent a fight. While this tactic is effective, it doesn’t mean there aren’t conflicts, which at times can result in minor wounding. This can be observed in our troop, but no worries as these apes heal fast! Despite occasional squabbles, they’re still said to be the most peaceful ape since they have never been recorded having killed another one of their own kind.

Here at the zoo, we have 12 individuals in our troop. There are 8 females and 4 males ranging from 5 months of age to 45 years old. Everyone has their own personality and preferences. We must earn their trust first and foremost before we can ask them to do anything outside of their comfort zone. There is a lot that goes into caring for this troop behind the scenes and I would love to give you an idea of what happens daily as a bonobo caretaker.

Bonobos live in a fission-fusion lifestyle. This means that their social groups can change almost daily depending on the bonobos. For example, today you could visit the indoor bonobo habitat and see Gilda, Daisy, Zanga, Bo and Vergil together but tomorrow you could visit, and Vergil could be seen with Nora and Kenge on the indoor habitat. We leave it up to the bonobos to communicate when they want a different social grouping. This could mean they separate themselves from their current grouping all together or we can see them gravitating towards others in their bedroom area. As a care team, we listen to what they are communicating to us as often as possible.

Training and enrichment are two of the most important aspects of our day. We want to make sure the bonobos are mentally and physically stimulated multiple times throughout their day. Training is one of the most beneficial and rewarding parts of our day working with the bonobos. They are incredibly intelligent and pick up on behaviors quickly, some quicker than others. A lot of our training focuses heavily on medical behaviors. This includes voluntary injections, blood pressure readings, cardiac ultrasounds, blood draw, and using a nebulizer. We focus on medical behaviors to help reduce the stress on the individual, and so they can participate in their own healthcare. These behaviors allow us to notice changes in their health so we can be proactive in their treatment.

One vital behavior we work on daily with the bonobos is injection training. This can be used for vaccination purposes but also for medical procedures that involve taking said individual to the vet hospital. Every year around cold/flu season, our main goal is to get as many bonobos as possible voluntarily vaccinated.

The priority is high for these injections since humans can pass common colds/flu to bonobos. Unlike you and I, the common cold or flu can make bonobos incredibly sick.

This past December, we were able to voluntarily vaccinate 10 bonobos against RSV. To our knowledge, we believe we are the first institution to vaccinate bonobos in human care. The decision to vaccinate against RSV was made because over the last few years, our troop has unfortunately been exposed to RSV. They are very sensitive, and it causes severe illness, especially to the younger individuals. After the passing of Amali in November of 2023, it was decided to prioritize the RSV vaccine. The bonobo care staff worked closely with our vet techs to formulate a plan to make the process as seamless as possible for the bonobos. Over the course of 3 days, we were able to get 10 bonobos vaccinated. There were observations made throughout the day to ensure they did not have a reaction to the vaccine.

With an increase of the flu in the tristate, just last week, we were able to vaccinate 9 bonobos against the flu. This is a big win for us since just two months ago they voluntarily received their RSV vaccines. We have seen at times that some may regress in their injection training after an injection. As a care team, we know sometimes that the trust bank may be low after, and we need to focus on rebuilding our trust bank with those individuals. For us to have that quick of a turnaround for two major injections was a huge win!

In the United States, there are 81 bonobos housed within 8 facilities. At The Cincinnati Zoo, we are fortunate to work alongside 12 of them daily. They teach us new things every day not only about themselves but also about ourselves. I know they have personally taught me patience, passion and love not only for our troop but the species as a whole. This Valentine’s Day, please remember the “make love, not war” lifestyle bonobos live by. Right now, our world could use more love.