Abstract
We analyzed population dynamics and birth seasonality of wild bonobos at Wamba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, based on 20 years of observations (1976–1996). Wamba Bonobo infant mortality is much lower than that reported for chimpanzees. This seemes to be related to several socioecological characteristics of bonobos: the use of abundant fruit and herbaceous foods, larger food patch size, female feeding priority, and the absence of infanticide. The mean interval between live births of 4.8 years is shorter than those reported for chimpanzees, and some females simultaneously carried and nursed two successive offspring. Mother–offspring conflicts, such as refusal of suckling attempts and interference with mothers' copulation, which are common in chimpanzees, are rare in Wamba bonobos. A birth peak seems to occur during the light rainy season from March to May, just after the season with the least rainfall. This timing of births is similar to those reported for chimpanzee populations, and might benefit both mother and offspring by maximizing the amount of time before the next dry season.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Boesch, C. (1997). Evidence for dominant wild female chimpanzees investing more in sons. Anim. Behav. 54: 811–815.
Clark, C. B. (1977). A preliminary report on weaning among chimpanzees of the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. In Chevalier-Skolnikoff, S., and Poirier, F. E. (eds.), Primate Bio-Social Development: Biological, Social and Ecological Determinants, Garland, New York, pp. 235–260.
Furuichi, T. (1987). Sexual swelling, receptivity, and grouping of wild pygmy chimpanzee females at Wamba, Zaire. Primates 28: 309–318.
Furuichi, T. (1989). Social interactions and the life history of female Pan paniscus in Wamba, Zaire. Int. J. Primatol. 10: 173–197.
Furuichi, T. (1992). The prolonged estrus of females and factors influencing mating in a wild group of bonobos (Pan paniscus) in Wamba, Zaire. In Itoigawa, N., Sugiyama, Y., Sackett, G. P., and Thompson, R. K. R. (eds.), Topics in Primatology, Vol. 2, Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 179–190.
Furuichi, T. (1997). Agonistic interactions and matrifocal dominance rank of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba, Zaire. Int. J. Primatol. 18: 855–875.
Goodall, J. (1977). Infant killing and cannibalism in free-living chimpanzees. Folia Primatol. 28:258–282.
Goodall, J. (1983). Population dynamics during a 15 year period in one community of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Z. Tierpsychol. 61: 1–60.
Goodall, J. (1986). The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, Belknap, Cambridge.
Hashimoto, C. (1997). Context and development of sexual behavior of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba, Zaire. Int. J. Primatol. 18: 1–21.
Hashimoto, C., and Furuichi, T. (1994). Social role and development of noncopulatory sexual behavior of wild bonobos. In Wrangham, R. W., McGrew, W. C., de Waal, F. B. M., and Heltne, P. G. (eds.), Chimpanzee Cultures, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, and London, pp. 155–168.
Hashimoto, C., Furuichi, T., and Takenaka, O. (1996). Matrilineal kin relationship and social behavior of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus): Sequencing the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA. Primates 37: 305–318.
Hashimoto, C., Tashiro, Y., Kimura, D., Enomoto, T., Ingmanson, E. J., Idani, G., and Furuichi, T. (1998). Habitat use and ranging of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba. Int. J. Primatol. 19: 1045–1060.
Idani, G. (1991). Social relationship between immigrant and resident bonobo (Pan paniscus) females at Wamba. Folia Primatol. 57: 83–95.
Ihobe, H. (1992). Male-male relationships among wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba, Republic of Zaire. Primates 33: 163–179.
Kano, T. (1982). The social group of pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus) of Wamba. Primates 23: 171–188.
Kano, T. (1989). The sexual behavior of pygmy chimpanzees. In Heltne, P. G., and Marquardt, L. A. (eds.), Understanding Chimpanzees, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, and London, pp. 176–183.
Kano, T. (1992). The Last Ape: Pygmy Chimpanzee Behavior and Ecology, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Kano, T., and Mulavwa, M. (1984). Feeding ecology of the pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus) of Wamba. In Susman, R. L. (ed.), The Pygmy Chimpanzee, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 233–274.
Kano, T., Idani, G., and Hashimoto, C. (1994). The present situations of bonobos at Wamba, Zaire. Primate Res. 10: 191–214 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Kano, T., Bongoli, L., Idani, G., and Hashimoto, C. (1996). Challenge of Wamba. Ethika Animali 96: 68–74.
Kawanaka, K. (1981). Infanticide and cannibalism in chimpanzees, with special reference to the newly observed case in the Mahale Mountains. Afr. Study Monogr. 1: 69–99.
Kitamura, K. (1983). Pygmy chimpanzee association patterns in ranging. Primates 24: 1–12.
Kuroda, S. (1979). Grouping of the pygmy chimpanzees. Primates 20:161–183.
Kuroda, S. (1989). Developmental retardation and behavioral characteristics of pygmy chimpanzees. In Heltne, P. G., and Marquardt, L. A. (eds.), Understanding Chimpanzees, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, and London, pp. 184–193.
Malenkey, R. K., Kuroda, S., Vineberg, E. O., and Wrangham, R. W. (1994). The significance of terrestrial herbaceous foods for bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas. In Wrangham, R. W., McGrew, W. C., de Waal, F. B. M., and Heltne, P. G. (eds.), Chimpanzee Cultures, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, and London, pp. 59–75.
McGrew, W. C., and Webster, J. (1995). Birth seasonality in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) despite constant food supply and body weight. Primates 36: 241–248.
Nishida, T. (1992). Weaning conflict in chimpanzees. Bull. Chicago Acad. of Sci. 15: 14.
Nishida, T., Takasaki, H., and Takahata, Y. (1990). Demography and reproductive profiles. In Nishida, T. (ed.), The Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains: Sexual and Life History Strategies, University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 63–97.
Parish, A. R. (1994). Sex and food control in the “uncommon chimpanzee”: how bonobo females overcome a phylogenetic legacy of male dominance. Ethol. Sociobiol. 15: 157–179.
Sugiyama, Y. (1984). Population dynamics of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea, between 1976 and 1983. Primates 25: 391–400.
Sugiyama, Y. (1994). Age-specific rate and lifetime reproductive success of chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Am. J. Primatol. 32: 311–318.
Takahata, Y. (1980). The reproductive biology of a free-ranging troop of Japanese monkeys. Primates 21: 303–329.
Takahata, Y., Ihobe, H., and Idani, G. (1996). Comparing copulations of chimpanzees and bonobos: do females exhibit proceptivity or receptivity? In McGrew, W. C., Marchant, L. F., and Nishida, T. (eds.), Great Ape Societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 146–155.
Tutin, C. E. G. (1979). Responses of chimpanzees to copulation, with special reference to interference by immature individuals. Anim. Behav. 27: 845–854.
Tutin, C. E. G. (1994). Reproductive success story. In Wrangham, R. W., McGrew, W. C., de Waal, F. B. M., and Heltne, P. G. (eds.), Chimpanzee Cultures, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, and London, pp. 181–193.
White, F. J. and Wrangham, R. W. (1988). Feeding competition and patch size in the chimpanzee species Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes. Behaviour 105: 148–164.
Wrangham, R. W. (1993). The evolution of sexuality in chimpanzees and bonobos. Hum. Nature 4: 47–79.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Furuichi, T., Idani, G., Ihobe, H. et al. Population Dynamics of Wild Bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba. International Journal of Primatology 19, 1029–1043 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020326304074
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020326304074