Abstract
We compared sex differences in behaviors leading to copulation of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Kalinzu Forest, Uganda with those of bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba, D.R. Congo, using the same definition. Female chimpanzees were more likely to initiate copulation than female bonobos. While most of copulations (96%) were initiated by males in bonobos, among chimpanzees only 63% of copulations were initiated by males. Female bonobos initiated an interaction leading to copulation when males approached them within a short distance. On the other hand, both male and female chimpanzees initiated behavior at a longer distance. Higher proceptivity and a higher copulation rate during the maximal swelling period of female chimpanzees might suggest that they gain greater benefits from a high frequency of copulations than do female bonobos.
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Acknowledgements
We much appreciate having an opportunity to talk at the international symposium “African Great Apes Evolution, Diversity, and Conservation”. We thank T. Kano, T. Nishida, O. Takenaka, and Mwanza-Ndunda who provided opportunities for field study and data analyses; the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, the Uganda Forestry Department, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority for giving us research permission in Kalinzu; and Nkoy-Batolumbo and other staffs at Wamba and Kalinzu who aided our field observations. This study was financially supported by Monbusho International Scientific Research Program grants to T. Kano (63041078), T. Nishida (12375003), and T. Furuichi (01790353, 12575017), and by a grant from the Monbusho COE Program to O. Takenaka (10CE2005).
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Hashimoto, C., Furuichi, T. Comparison of behavioral sequence of copulation between chimpanzees and bonobos. Primates 47, 51–55 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-005-0144-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-005-0144-x