Featured Animal: Bonobo

BonoboMeet our featured animal, the bonobo!

Here are five facts about bonobos:

  • Bonobos share 98.5% of our DNA.
  • In captivity, bonobos have learned how to communicate in human languages, use tools, and play music.
  • Although they resemble chimpanzees, bonobos have the ability to walk bipedally, or on two legs, more easily and for longer amounts of time than chimps.
  • Bonobos live harmoniously in matriarchal groups of up to 100 members.
  • Bonobos communicate with high-pitched barking sounds.

Learn more about bonobos >

Baby Bonobo at Jacksonville Zoo

bonobo baby
Photo: Marian Brickner

A female baby bonobo was born November 6 to Kuni of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  Delfi Messinger, the Director of Animal Programs, said of the 24-year-old mother, “She seems so proud, and shows her baby to the ‘aunties’ in the group, as well as to her human caretakers.”

In the wild, bonobos live in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Sharing 98.5% of the same DNA as humans, they embody a profound intelligence and a deep emotional capacity. To learn more about bonobos, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Bonobo.

To learn more about Kuni and her new baby, visit Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.