Editing Bonobo (section)

=== Social behavior ===
[[File:6 bonobos WHCalvin IMG 1341.jpg|thumb|Bonobos are very social.]]
[[File:A Bonobo at the San Diego Zoo "fishing" for termites.jpg|thumb|left|Bonobo searching for termites]]
Bonobos are unusual among apes for their matriarchal social structure (extensive overlap between the male and female hierarchies leads some to refer to them as gender-balanced in their power structure). Bonobos do not have a defined territory and communities will travel over a wide range. Because of the nomadic nature of the females and evenly distributed food in their environment, males do not gain any obvious advantages by forming alliances with other males, or by defending a home range, as chimpanzees do. Female bonobos possess sharper canines than female chimpanzees, further fueling their status in the group.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter=The Other Sister, Bonobos: The Monkey Convergence Hypothesis|date=2020|title=Chimpanzee: Lessons from our Sister Species|pages=499–516|editor-last=Hunt|editor-first=Kevin D.|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781316339916.029|isbn=978-1-107-11859-1|s2cid=236795730}}</ref> Although a male bonobo is dominant to a female in a [[Dyad (sociology)|dyadic]] interaction,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=White|first1=Frances J.|last2=Wood|first2=Kimberley D.|date=August 2007|title=Female feeding priority in bonobos, ''Pan paniscus'', and the question of female dominance|journal=American Journal of Primatology|volume=69|issue=8|pages=837–850|doi=10.1002/ajp.20387|pmid=17358018|s2cid=17628292}}</ref> depending on the community, socially-bonded females may be co-dominant with males<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Paoli T, Palagi E, Tarli SM |title=Reevaluation of dominance hierarchy in bonobos (''Pan paniscus'') |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=130 |issue=1 |pages=116–22 |date=May 2006 |pmid=16353224 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20345}}</ref> or dominant over them, even to the extent that females can coerce reluctant males into mating with them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What Bonobos Can Teach Us About Sexual Assault|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/are-men-wired-dominate-women-bonobos-suggest-not/571957/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=The Atlantic|date=3 October 2018|archive-date=2023-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226031725/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/are-men-wired-dominate-women-bonobos-suggest-not/571957/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Surbeck M, Hohmann G | title = Intersexual dominance relationships and the influence of leverage on the outcome of conflicts in wild bonobos (''Pan paniscus''). | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | date = November 2013 | volume = 67 | issue = 11 | pages = 1767–80 | doi = 10.1007/s00265-013-1584-8 | bibcode = 2013BEcoS..67.1767S | s2cid = 15709567}}
* {{cite press release |date=July 15, 2013 |title=Attractive and successful: In bonobos, attractive females are more likely to win conflicts against males |website=ScienceDaily |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130715105206.htm |access-date=April 5, 2021 |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211205306/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130715105206.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the top of the hierarchy is a coalition of high-ranking females and males typically headed by an old, experienced matriarch<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Pallardy R|date=2012-05-21|title=The Scandalous Social Lives of Bonobos|url=https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-scandalous-social-lives-of-bonobos|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Saving Earth {{!}} Encyclopedia Britannica|archive-date=2022-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112144759/https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-scandalous-social-lives-of-bonobos|url-status=live}}</ref> who acts as the decision-maker and leader of the group. Female bonobos typically earn their rank through experience, age, and ability to forge alliances with other females in their group, rather than physical intimidation, and top-ranking females will protect immigrant females from male harassment.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Sivasubramanian S|title=Feminist bonobos are taking a stand against male aggression|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/science/nature/article/2016/07/27/feminist-bonobos-are-taking-stand-against-male-aggression|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Topics|archive-date=2023-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226031727/https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/science/nature/article/2016/07/27/feminist-bonobos-are-taking-stand-against-male-aggression|url-status=dead}}</ref> While bonobos are often called matriarchal, and while every community is dominated by a female, some males will still obtain a high rank and act as coalitionary partners to the alpha female,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-08-13|title=Zoo Story|url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/ZooStory/|access-date=2021-12-06|website=Milwaukee Magazine|archive-date=2023-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226031723/https://www.milwaukeemag.com/ZooStory/|url-status=live}}</ref> often taking initiative in coordinating the group's movements. These males may outrank not only the other males in the group, but also many females.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-08-13|title=Zoo Story|url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/ZooStory/|access-date=2021-05-07|website=Milwaukee Magazine|archive-date=2023-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226031723/https://www.milwaukeemag.com/ZooStory/|url-status=live}}</ref> Certain males alert the group to any possible threats, protecting the group from predators such as pythons and leopards.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Raffaele P|title=The Smart and Swinging Bonobo|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-smart-and-swinging-bonobo-134784867/|access-date=2020-09-07|website=Smithsonian Magazine|archive-date=2023-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330220205/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-smart-and-swinging-bonobo-134784867/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Corredor-Ospina|first1=Nicolas|last2=Kreyer|first2=Melodie|last3=Rossi|first3=Giulia|last4=Hohmann|first4=Gottfried|last5=Fruth|first5=Barbara|date=2021-07-01|title=First report of a leopard (''Panthera pardus'')–bonobo (''Pan paniscus'') encounter at the LuiKotale study site, Democratic Republic of the Congo|journal=Primates|volume=62|issue=4|pages=555–562|doi=10.1007/s10329-021-00897-8|pmc=8225524|pmid=33950405}}</ref>

Aggressive encounters between males and females are rare, and males are tolerant of infants and juveniles. A male derives his status from the status of his mother.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = White F | date = 1996 | chapter = Comparative socio-ecology of ''Pan paniscus'' | pages = 29–41 | veditors = McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T | title = Great ape societies | location = Cambridge, England | publisher = Cambridge Univ Press | isbn = 0-521-55536-1 }}</ref> The mother–son bond often stays strong and continues throughout life. While social hierarchies do exist, and although the son of a high ranking female may outrank a lower female, rank plays a less prominent role than in other primate societies.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web | vauthors = Nicholls H | date = 17 March 2016 | url = http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160317-do-bonobos-really-spend-all-their-time-having-sex | title = Do bonobos really spend all their time having sex? | work = BBC | access-date = 11 October 2016 | archive-date = 7 October 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171007230355/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160317-do-bonobos-really-spend-all-their-time-having-sex | url-status = live }}</ref> Relationships between different communities are often positive and affiliative, and bonobos are not a territorial species.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Furuichi T | title = Female contributions to the peaceful nature of bonobo society | journal = Evolutionary Anthropology | volume = 20 | issue = 4 | pages = 131–42 | date = July 2011 | pmid = 22038769 | doi = 10.1002/evan.20308 | s2cid = 17830996 }}</ref> Bonobos will also share food with others, even unrelated strangers.<ref>{{cite journal | last1= Hare |first1=B |last2=Kwetuenda |first2=S | title = Bonobos voluntarily share their own food with others | journal = Current Biology | volume = 20 | issue = 5 | pages = R230-1 | date = March 2010 | pmid = 20219170 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2009.12.038 | s2cid = 28319610 | doi-access = free |bibcode=2010CBio...20.R230H }}</ref> Bonobos exhibit [[neoteny|paedomorphism]] (retaining infantile physical characteristics and behaviours),<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wobber V, Wrangham R, Hare B | title = Bonobos exhibit delayed development of social behavior and cognition relative to chimpanzees | journal = Current Biology | volume = 20 | issue = 3 | pages = 226–30 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20116251 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2009.11.070 | s2cid = 3398517 | url = http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:5270286 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2010CBio...20..226W }}</ref> which greatly inhibits aggression and enables unfamiliar bonobos to freely mingle and cooperate with each other.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Callaway E|title=Peter Pan ways make bonobos the most amiable of apes|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18443-peter-pan-ways-make-bonobos-the-most-amiable-of-apes/|access-date=2021-03-14|website=New Scientist|archive-date=2023-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313035354/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18443-peter-pan-ways-make-bonobos-the-most-amiable-of-apes/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Males engage in lengthy friendships with females and, in turn, female bonobos prefer to associate with and mate with males who are respectful and easygoing around them. Because female bonobos can use alliances to rebuff coercive and domineering males and select males at their own leisure, they show preference for males who are not aggressive towards them.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Surbeck M, Deschner T, Schubert G, Weltring A, Hohmann G | title = Mate competition, testosterone and intersexual relationships in bonobos, ''Pan paniscus'' | journal = Animal Behaviour | date = March 2012 | volume = 83 | issue = 3 | pages = 659–69 | doi = 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.12.010 | s2cid = 53198728}}
* {{cite web |date=January 23, 2012 |title=Bonobos' unusual success story: Dominant males invest in friendly relationships with females |website=Max-Planck-Gesellschaft |url=https://www.mpg.de/4994603/Bonobos_testosterone |access-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326204542/https://www.mpg.de/4994603/Bonobos_testosterone |url-status=live }}</ref> Aging bonobos lose their playful streak and become noticeably more irritable in old age. Both sexes have a similar level of aggressiveness.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Hogenboom M|title=First personality test shows that female apes are irritable|url=https://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160622-why-female-apes-are-irritable|access-date=2021-03-12|website=www.bbc.com|archive-date=2021-03-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331175649/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160622-why-female-apes-are-irritable|url-status=live}}</ref> Bonobos live in a male philopatric society where the females immigrate to new communities while males remain in their natal troop. However, it is not entirely unheard of for males to occasionally transfer into new groups.<ref>{{Citation| vauthors = Furuichi T, Idani GI, Ihobe H, Hashimoto C, Tashiro Y, Sakamaki T, Mulavwa MN, Yangozene K, Kuroda S |title=Long-Term Studies on Wild Bonobos at Wamba, Luo Scientific Reserve, D. R. Congo: Towards the Understanding of Female Life History in a Male-Philopatric Species|date=2012|work=Long-Term Field Studies of Primates|pages=413–433| veditors = Kappeler PM, Watts DP |place=Berlin, Heidelberg|publisher=Springer|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-22514-7_18|isbn=978-3-642-22514-7}}</ref> Additionally, females with powerful mothers may remain in their natal clan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonobo Alive {{!}} News|url=https://www.bonobo-alive.org/files/news.html|access-date=2021-11-21|website=www.bonobo-alive.org|archive-date=2023-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313035350/https://www.bonobo-alive.org/files/news.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Alliances between males are poorly developed in most bonobo communities, while females will form alliances with each other and alliances between males and females occur, including multisex hunting parties.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Jirik K|title=LibGuides: Bonobo (''Pan paniscus'') Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology|url=https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/bonobo/behavior|access-date=2021-01-13|website=ielc.libguides.com|archive-date=2023-05-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527233818/https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/bonobo/behavior|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a confirmed case of a grown male bonobo adopting his orphaned infant brother.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Surbeck |first1=Martin |last2=Hohmann |first2=Gottfried |title=Affiliations, aggressions and an adoption: Male–male relationships in wild bonobos |journal=Oxford Scholarship |year=2018 |pages=35–46 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198728511.003.0003|isbn=978-0-19-872851-1 }}</ref> A mother bonobo will also support her grown son in conflicts with other males and help him secure better ties with other females, enhancing her chance of gaining grandchildren from him.<ref name="pmid20810444">{{cite journal | vauthors = Surbeck M, Mundry R, Hohmann G | title = Mothers matter! Maternal support, dominance status and mating success in male bonobos (''Pan paniscus'') | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 278 | issue = 1705 | pages = 590–8 | date = February 2011 | pmid = 20810444 | pmc = 3025686 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2010.1572}}
* {{cite web |date=September 1, 2010 |title=High social status, maternal support play important role in mating success of male bonobos |website=Phys.org |url=https://phys.org/news/2010-09-high-social-status-maternal-important.html |access-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028185326/https://phys.org/news/2010-09-high-social-status-maternal-important.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She will even take measures such as physical intervention to prevent other males from breeding with certain females she wants her son to mate with.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Sample I|date=2019-05-20|title=Pushy bonobo mothers help sons find sexual partners, scientists find|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/20/pushy-bonobo-mothers-help-sons-find-sexual-partners-scientists-find|access-date=2021-01-13|website=The Guardian|archive-date=2023-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329024607/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/20/pushy-bonobo-mothers-help-sons-find-sexual-partners-scientists-find|url-status=live}}</ref> Although mothers play a role in aiding their sons, and the hierarchy among males is largely reflected by their mother's social status, some motherless males will still successfully dominate some males who do have mothers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Momma's Boy Strategy: Why Bonobo Males Tend Not To Form Coalitions|url=https://traditionsofconflict.com/blog/2018/12/18/the-mommas-boy-strategy-why-bonobo-males-tend-not-to-form-coalitions|access-date=2021-05-07|website=Traditions of Conflict|date=18 December 2018|archive-date=2021-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510142819/https://traditionsofconflict.com/blog/2018/12/18/the-mommas-boy-strategy-why-bonobo-males-tend-not-to-form-coalitions|url-status=live}}</ref>

Female bonobos have also been observed fostering infants from outside their established community.<ref name="pmid33737517">{{cite journal |vauthors=Tokuyama N, Toda K, Poiret ML, Iyokango B, Bakaa B, Ishizuka S |title=Two wild female bonobos adopted infants from a different social group at Wamba |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=4967 |date=March 2021 |pmid=33737517 |pmc=7973529 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-83667-2 |bibcode=2021NatSR..11.4967T}}
* {{cite web |date=March 18, 2021 |title=Female wild bonobos provide care for infants outside their social group |website=Phys.org |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-03-female-wild-bonobos-infants-social.html |access-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319065122/https://phys.org/news/2021-03-female-wild-bonobos-infants-social.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tokuyama N, Toda K, Poiret ML, Iyokango B, Bakaa B, Ishizuka S | title = Two wild female bonobos adopted infants from a different social group at Wamba | journal = Scientific Reports | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | pages = 4967 | date = March 2021 | pmid = 33737517 | pmc = 7973529 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-021-83667-2 | bibcode = 2021NatSR..11.4967T }}</ref> Bonobos are not known to kill each other, and are generally less violent than chimpanzees, yet aggression still manifests itself in this species. Although female bonobos dominate males and selectively mate with males who do not exhibit aggression toward them, competition between the males themselves is intense and high-ranking males secure more matings than low-ranking ones.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Stevens J, Vervaecke H, de Vries H, van Elsacker L |date=2 October 2007 |title=Sex Differences in the Steepness of Dominance Hierarchies in Captive Bonobo Groups |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=28 |issue= 6|pages=1417–1430 |doi=10.1007/s10764-007-9186-9 |s2cid=27240321 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227156283}}</ref> Indeed, the size difference between males and females is more pronounced in bonobos than it is in chimpanzees, as male bonobos do not form alliances and therefore have little incentive to hold back when fighting for access to females.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Hunt K |year=2020 |chapter=The Other Sister, Bonobos: The Monkey Convergence Hypothesis |title=Chimpanzee: Lessons from our Sister Species |pages=499–516 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342897635 |doi=10.1017/9781316339916.029|s2cid=236795730 }}</ref> Male bonobos are known to attack each other and inflict serious injuries such as missing digits, damaged eyes and torn ears. Some of these injuries may also occur when a male threatens the high ranking females and is injured by them, as the larger male is swarmed and outnumbered by a female mob.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Clint E|date=2017-10-09|title=Faux-nobo: "Naked Bonobo" demolishes myth of sexy, egalitarian bonobos|website=Incredulous|url=https://skepticink.com/incredulous/2017/10/09/bonobo-myth-demolished/|access-date=2020-12-18|archive-date=2023-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525223219/https://skepticink.com/incredulous/2017/10/09/bonobo-myth-demolished/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Because of the promiscuous mating behavior of female bonobos, a male cannot be sure which offspring are his. As a result, the entirety of parental care in bonobos is assumed by the mothers.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Cawthon Lang KA | date = December 2010 | url = http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/bonobo/behav | work = Primate Factsheets | title = Bonobo (''Pan paniscus'') behavior | publisher = University of Wisconsin | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160412150955/http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/bonobo/behav | archive-date = 2016-04-12 }}</ref> However, bonobos are not as promiscuous as chimpanzees and slightly polygamous tendencies occur, with high-ranking males enjoying greater reproductive success than low-ranking males. Unlike chimpanzees, where any male can coerce a female into mating with him, female bonobos enjoy greater sexual preferences and can rebuff undesirable males, an advantage of female-female bonding, and actively seek out higher-ranking males.<ref>{{Citation|title=16 The Absence of Sexual Coercion in Bonobos|date=2009-12-31|work=Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans|pages=410–423|publisher=Harvard University Press|doi=10.4159/9780674054349-016|isbn=978-0-674-05434-9}}</ref>

Bonobo [[Group size measures|party size]] tends to vary because the groups exhibit a [[Fission-fusion society|fission–fusion pattern]]. A community of approximately 100 will split into small groups during the day while looking for food, and then will come back together to sleep. They sleep in nests that they construct in trees. Female bonobos more often than not secure feeding privileges and feed before males do, and although they are rarely successful in one-on-one confrontations with males, a female bonobo with several allies supporting her has extremely high success in monopolizing food sources.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = White FJ, Wood KD | title = Female feeding priority in bonobos, ''Pan paniscus'', and the question of female dominance | journal = American Journal of Primatology | volume = 69 | issue = 8 | pages = 837–50 | date = August 2007 | pmid = 17358018 | doi = 10.1002/ajp.20387 | s2cid = 17628292 }}</ref> Different communities favour different prey. In some communities females exclusively hunt and have a preference for rodents, in others both sexes hunt, and will target monkeys.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Samuni|first1=Liran|last2=Wegdell|first2=Franziska|last3=Surbeck|first3=Martin|date=2020-09-01|editor-last=Weigel|editor-first=Detlef|editor2-last=Van de Waal|editor2-first=Erica|editor3-last=Van de Waal|editor3-first=Erica|title=Behavioural diversity of bonobo prey preference as a potential cultural trait|journal=eLife|volume=9|pages=e59191|doi=10.7554/eLife.59191|pmid=32869740|pmc=7462605 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In captive settings, females exhibit extreme food-based aggression towards males, and forge coalitions against them to monopolize specific food items, often going as far as to mutilate any males who fail to heed their warning.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Nicholls H|title=Do bonobos really spend all their time having sex?|url=https://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160317-do-bonobos-really-spend-all-their-time-having-sex|access-date=2020-08-08|website=www.bbc.com|archive-date=2020-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812160013/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160317-do-bonobos-really-spend-all-their-time-having-sex|url-status=live}}</ref> In wild settings, however, female bonobos will quietly ask males for food if they had gotten it first, instead of forcibly confiscating it, suggesting sex-based hierarchy roles are less rigid than in captive colonies.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Jones N|date=2018-04-05|title=Bonobos Spied Sharing a Feast|url=https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/bonobos-meal-sharing/|access-date=2020-08-08|website=SAPIENS|archive-date=2020-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624180404/https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/bonobos-meal-sharing/|url-status=live}}</ref> Female bonobos are known to lead hunts on [[duiker]]s and successfully defend their bounty from marauding males in the wild. They are more tolerant of younger males pestering them yet exhibit heightened aggression towards older males.<ref name="pmid30889597">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wakefield ML, Hickmott AJ, Brand CM, Takaoka IY, Meador LM, Waller MT, White FJ | title = New Observations of Meat Eating and Sharing in Wild Bonobos (''Pan paniscus'') at Iyema, Lomako Forest Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo | journal = Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology | volume = 90 | issue = 3 | pages = 179–189 | date = 2019 | pmid = 30889597 | doi = 10.1159/000496026 | s2cid = 84183655}}
* {{cite web |author= |date=2019-05-01 |title=Bonobos Eat and Share Meat at Rates Similar to Chimpanzees |website=The Leakey Foundation |url=https://leakeyfoundation.org/bonobos-eat-and-share-meat-at-rates-similar-to-chimpanzees/ |access-date=2020-10-05 |archive-date=2020-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008081630/https://leakeyfoundation.org/bonobos-eat-and-share-meat-at-rates-similar-to-chimpanzees/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a study published in November 2023, scientists reported, for the first time, evidence that groups of [[primate]]s, particularly bonobos, are capable of cooperating with each other.<ref name="NYT-20231116">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |authorlink=Carl Zimmer |title=Scientists Find First Evidence That Groups of Apes Cooperate - Some bonobos are challenging the notion that humans are the only primates capable of group-to-group alliances. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/science/bonobos-cooperation-study.html |date=16 November 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231116194259/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/science/bonobos-cooperation-study.html |archive-date=16 November 2023 |access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="SCI-20231116">{{cite journal |author=Samuni, Liran |display-authors=et al. |title=Cooperation across social borders in bonobos |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg0844 |date=16 November 2023 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=382 |issue=6672 |pages=805–809 |doi=10.1126/science.adg0844 |pmid=37972165 |bibcode=2023Sci...382..805S |s2cid=265221570 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231117125744/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg0844 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> Researchers observed unprecedented cooperation between two distinct bonobo groups in the Congo's [[Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve]], Ekalakala and Kokoalongo, challenging traditional notions of ape societies. Over two years of observation, researchers witnessed 95 encounters between the groups. Contrary to expectations, these interactions resembled those within a single group. During these encounters, the bonobos engaged in behaviors such as grooming, food sharing, and collective defense against threats like snakes. Notably, the two groups, while displaying cooperative tendencies, maintained distinct identities, and there was no evidence of interbreeding or a blending of cultures. The cooperation observed was not arbitrary but evolved through individual bonds formed by exchanging favors and gifts. Some bonobos even formed alliances to target a third individual, demonstrating a nuanced social dynamic within the groups.<ref name="NYT-20231116" /><ref name="SCI-20231116" />

==== Sociosexual behaviour ====
{{See also|Animal sexual behaviour#Genital-genital rubbing|Homosexual behavior in animals#Bonobos}}
[[File:Bonobo sexual behavior 1.jpg|thumb|Bonobos mating, [[Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens]].]]
Sexual activity generally plays a major role in bonobo society, being used as what some scientists perceive as a [[greeting]], a means of forming social bonds, a means of [[conflict resolution]], and [[reconciliation (democratic process)#In animals|postconflict reconciliation]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jel/512/aggression-01.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050320135050/http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jel/512/aggression-01.html | archive-date = 20 March 2005 | title =  Aggression topics | publisher = [[University of New Hampshire]] }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20160910" /> Bonobos are the only non-human animal to have been observed engaging in [[tongue kiss]]ing.<ref name=Manson1997>{{cite journal| vauthors = Manson JH, Perry S, Parish AR |year = 1997|title = Nonconceptive Sexual Behavior in Bonobos and Capuchins|journal = International Journal of Primatology|volume = 18|issue = 5|pages = 767–86 |doi = 10.1023/A:1026395829818|s2cid = 3032455 }}</ref> Bonobos and [[human]]s are the only primates to typically engage in face-to-face genital sex, although a pair of [[western gorilla]]s has also been photographed in this position.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Nguyen TC | date = 2008-02-13 | url = http://www.livescience.com/2298-gorillas-caught-human-act.html | title = Gorillas Caught in Very Human Act | work = Live Science | access-date = 2011-10-01 | archive-date = 2012-07-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120704074516/http://www.livescience.com/2298-gorillas-caught-human-act.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

Bonobos do not form [[Monogamy in animals|permanent monogamous sexual relationships]] with individual partners. They also do not seem to discriminate in their sexual behavior by sex or age, with the possible exception of abstaining from sexual activity between mothers and their adult sons. When bonobos come upon a new food source or feeding ground, the increased excitement will usually lead to communal sexual activity, presumably decreasing tension and encouraging peaceful feeding.<ref name="deWaal1995">{{cite journal | vauthors = de Waal FB | title = Bonobo sex and society | journal = Scientific American | volume = 272 | issue = 3 | pages = 82–8 | date = March 1995 | pmid = 7871411 | doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican0395-82 | url = http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/uploads/media/Bonobo_sex_01.pdf | access-date = 21 December 2011 | url-status = dead | bibcode = 1995SciAm.272c..82W | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120127051545/http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/uploads/media/Bonobo_sex_01.pdf | archive-date = 27 January 2012 | author-link = Frans de Waal }}</ref>

More often than the males, female bonobos engage in mutual genital-rubbing behavior, possibly to bond socially with each other, thus forming a female nucleus of bonobo society. The bonding among females enables them to dominate most of the males.<ref name="deWaal1995" /> Adolescent females often leave their native community to join another community. This migration mixes the bonobo [[gene pool]]s, providing [[genetic diversity]]. Sexual bonding with other females establishes these new females as members of the group.

Bonobo [[clitoris]]es are larger and more externalized than in most mammals;<ref name="Balcombe 2011">{{cite book | vauthors = Balcombe JP |author-link=Jonathan Balcombe |title=The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-26024-5 |year=2011 |access-date=2012-11-22|page=88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tz9mSyTWh0oC&pg=PA88}}</ref> while the weight of a young adolescent female bonobo "is maybe half" that of a human teenager, she has a clitoris that is "three times bigger than the human equivalent, and visible enough to waggle unmistakably as she walks".<ref name="Angier">{{cite book | vauthors = Angier N |author-link=Natalie Angier |title=Woman: An Intimate Geography |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |isbn=978-0-395-69130-4 |year=1999 |access-date=2012-11-22|page=[https://archive.org/details/womanintimategeo00angi/page/68 68]|url=https://archive.org/details/womanintimategeo00angi|url-access=registration }}</ref> In scientific literature, the female–female behavior of bonobos pressing vulvas together is often referred to as [[Genital-genital rubbing|genito-genital (GG) rubbing]].<ref name="deWaal1995" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Paoli T, Palagi E, Tacconi G, Tarli SB | title = Perineal swelling, intermenstrual cycle, and female sexual behavior in bonobos (''Pan paniscus'') | journal = American Journal of Primatology | volume = 68 | issue = 4 | pages = 333–47 | date = April 2006 | pmid = 16534808 | doi = 10.1002/ajp.20228 | s2cid = 25823290 }}</ref> This sexual activity happens within the immediate female bonobo community and sometimes outside of it. [[Ethology|Ethologist]] [[Jonathan Balcombe]] stated that female bonobos rub their clitorises together rapidly for ten to twenty seconds, and this behavior, "which may be repeated in rapid succession, is usually accompanied by grinding, shrieking, and clitoral engorgement"; he added that it is estimated that they engage in this practice "about once every two hours" on average.<ref name="Balcombe 2011" /> As bonobos occasionally copulate face-to-face,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wrangham |first=Richard W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IzBIHPeE45IC&pg=PA164 |title=Chimpanzee Cultures |date=1996 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-11663-4 |language=en}}</ref> "evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk has suggested that the position of the clitoris in bonobos and some other primates has evolved to maximize stimulation during sexual intercourse".<ref name="Balcombe 2011" /> The position of the clitoris may alternatively permit GG-rubbings, which has been hypothesized to function as a means for female bonobos to evaluate their intrasocial relationships.<ref name="hohmannfruth2000">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hohmann G, Fruth B | title = Use and function of genital contacts among female bonobos | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 60 | issue = 1 | pages = 107–120 | date = July 2000 | pmid = 10924210 | doi = 10.1006/anbe.2000.1451 | s2cid = 39702173 }}</ref>
[[File:Pan paniscus11.jpg|thumb|left|Group of bonobos]]
Bonobo males engage in various forms of male–male genital behavior.<ref name="deWaal1995" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2004/laird/Social_Organization.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519005633/http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2004/laird/Social_Organization.htm |archive-date=2011-05-19 |title=Courtney Laird, "Social Organization" |publisher=Bio.davidson.edu |year=2004 |access-date=2009-07-03}}</ref> The most common form of male–male mounting is similar to that of a heterosexual mounting: one of the males sits "passively on his back [with] the other male thrusting on him", with the penises rubbing together because of both males' erections.<ref name="deWaal1997" /> In another, rarer form of genital rubbing, two bonobo males hang from a tree limb face-to-face while [[penis fencing#Other uses|penis fencing]].<ref name="deWaal1995" /><ref name=penisfencing>{{cite book| vauthors = de Waal FB |author-link= Frans de Waal| title=The ape and the sushi master: cultural reflections by a primatologist|publisher=Basic Books|chapter=Bonobos and Fig Leaves|year= 2001|isbn= 978-84-493-1325-7}}</ref> This also may occur when two males rub their penises together while in face-to-face position. Another form of genital interaction (rump rubbing) often occurs to express reconciliation between two males after a conflict, when they stand back-to-back and rub their scrotal sacs together, but such behavior also occurs outside agonistic contexts: Kitamura (1989) observed rump–rump contacts between adult males following sexual solicitation behaviors similar to those between female bonobos prior to GG-rubbing.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kitamura K |title=Genito-Genital Contacts in the Pygmy Chimpanzees (''Pan paniscus'') |journal=African Study Monographs |date=August 1989 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=49–67 |doi=10.14989/68052 |hdl=2433/68052 }}</ref> [[Takayoshi Kano]] observed similar practices among bonobos in the natural habitat. Tongue kissing, oral sex, and genital massaging have also been recorded among male bonobos.<ref>{{cite web|website=BBC|url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150206-are-there-any-homosexual-animals|title=Are there any homosexual animals?|date=6 February 2015|vauthors=Hogenboom M|access-date=30 June 2017|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514141924/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150206-are-there-any-homosexual-animals|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="deWaal1997" />

Wild females give birth for the first time at 13 or 14 years of age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Waal |first=Frans B. M. |date=June 1, 2006 |title=Bonobo Sex and Society |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bonobo-sex-and-society-2006-06/ |journal=Scientific American |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=14–21 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0606-14sp |access-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104143350/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bonobo-sex-and-society-2006-06/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bonobo reproductive rates are no higher than those of the common chimpanzee.<ref name=deWaal1995 /> However, female bonobo oestrus periods are longer.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Ihobe H, Furuichi T |date=1994|title=Variation in Male Relationships in Bonobos and Chimpanzees|journal=Behaviour|volume=130|issue=3–4|pages=211–228|doi=10.1163/156853994x00532}}</ref> During [[oestrus]], females undergo [[Sexual swelling|a swelling]] of the [[perineal tissue]] lasting 10 to 20 days. The gestation period is on average 240 days. [[Postpartum amenorrhea]] (absence of menstruation) lasts less than one year and a female may resume external signs of oestrus within a year of giving birth, though the female is probably not fertile at this point. Female bonobos carry and nurse their young for four years and give birth on average every 4.6 years.<ref name="ADW">{{cite web | url = http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pan_paniscus.html | vauthors = Williams A, Myers P | year = 2004 | title = ''Pan paniscus'' | publisher = [[Animal Diversity Web]] | access-date = 6 January 2012 | archive-date = 7 February 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110207001628/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pan_paniscus.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Compared to common chimpanzees, bonobo females resume the genital swelling cycle much sooner after giving birth, enabling them to rejoin the sexual activities of their society. Also, bonobo females which are sterile or too young to reproduce still engage in sexual activity. Mothers will help their sons get more matings from females in oestrus.<ref name="bbc.com" />

Adult male bonobos have sex with infants,<ref name="de Waal 1990">{{cite book | vauthors = de Waal FB | date = 1990 | chapter = Sociosexual behavior used for tension regulation in all age and sex combinations among bonobos | pages = 378–393 | title = Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions | veditors = Feierman JR | publisher = Springer | location = New York | isbn = 978-1-4613-9684-0}}</ref> although without penetration.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Small MF | date = 1 June 1992 | url = https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/casual-sex-play-common-among-bonobos | title = Casual Sex Play Common Among Bonobos | work = Discover | quote = Even juveniles participate by rubbing their genital areas against adults, although ethologists don't think that males actually insert their penises into juvenile females. | access-date = 14 November 2020 | archive-date = 26 March 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230326180012/https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/casual-sex-play-common-among-bonobos | url-status = live }}</ref> Adult females also have sex with infants, but less frequently. Infants are not passive participants. They quite often initiate contacts with both adult males and females, as well as with peers.<ref name="de Waal 1990" /> They have also been shown to be sexually active even in the absence of any stimulation or learning from adults.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Woods |first1=Vanessa |last2=Hare |first2=Brian |date=2011-04-01 |title=Bonobo but not chimpanzee infants use socio-sexual contact with peers |journal=Primates |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=111–116 |doi=10.1007/s10329-010-0229-z |pmid=21127940 |s2cid=7628992 |quote=Even as infants, bonobos use socio-sexual behavior, whereas the same behavior is completely absent in chimpanzee infants. Findings suggest that sociosexual behavior in infant bonobos serves functions during social feeding that is not closely tied to reproduction. Moreover, their sexual behavior development is not dependent on a gradual learning process facilitated by interactions with adults or by close observation of such behavior.}}</ref>

Infanticide, while well documented in [[chimpanzee]]s, is apparently absent in bonobo society.<ref name="Gottfried 300–309">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gottfried H, Vigilant L, Mundry R, Behringer V, Surbeck M | title = Aggression by male bonobos against immature individuals does not fit with predictions of infanticide | journal = Aggressive Behavior | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 300–309 | date = May 2019 | pmid = 30710459 | doi = 10.1002/ab.21819 | s2cid = 73440844 }}</ref> Although infanticide has not been directly observed, there have been documented cases of both female<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/07/30/swingers | title=Swingers | magazine=[[The New Yorker]] | date=23 July 2007 | access-date=19 December 2018 | archive-date=28 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328131137/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/07/30/swingers | url-status=live }}</ref> and male<ref name="Questioning the “sexy” bonobo hype, part 2: a primatologist debunks Christopher Ryan - Incredulous">{{cite web | url=https://skepticink.com/incredulous/2014/12/29/questioning-sexy-bonobo-hype-part-2-primatologist-responds-christopher-ryan/ | title=Questioning the "sexy" bonobo hype, part 2: A primatologist debunks Christopher Ryan | date=29 December 2014 | access-date=1 July 2022 | archive-date=29 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329043949/https://skepticink.com/incredulous/2014/12/29/questioning-sexy-bonobo-hype-part-2-primatologist-responds-christopher-ryan/ | url-status=live }}</ref> bonobos kidnapping infants, sometimes resulting in infants dying from dehydration. Although male bonobos have not yet been seen to practice infanticide, there is a documented incident in captivity involving a dominant female abducting an infant from a lower-ranking female, treating the infant roughly and denying it the chance to suckle. During the kidnapping, the infant's mother was clearly distressed and tried to retrieve her infant. Had the zookeepers not intervened, the infant almost certainly would have died from dehydration. This suggests female bonobos can have hostile rivalries with each other and a propensity to carry out infanticide.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Clint|first=Edward|date=2017-10-09|title=Faux-nobo: "Naked Bonobo" demolishes myth of sexy, egalitarian bonobos|url=https://skepticink.com/incredulous/2017/10/09/bonobo-myth-demolished/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Incredulous|archive-date=2023-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525223219/https://skepticink.com/incredulous/2017/10/09/bonobo-myth-demolished/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The highly sexual nature of bonobo society and the fact that there is little competition over mates means that many males and females are mating with each other, in contrast to the one dominant male chimpanzee that fathers most of the offspring in a group.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Hare B, Wobber V, Wrangham R |date=March 2012|title=The self-domestication hypothesis: evolution of bonobo psychology is due to selection against aggression |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=573–585 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.12.007 |s2cid=3415520 }}</ref> The strategy of bonobo females mating with many males may be a counterstrategy to infanticide because it confuses paternity. If male bonobos cannot distinguish their own offspring from others, the incentive for infanticide essentially disappears.<ref name="Gottfried 300–309" /> This is a reproductive strategy that seems specific to bonobos; infanticide is observed in all other great apes except [[orangutan]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Beaudrot LH, Kahlenberg SM, Marshall AJ | title = Why male orangutans do not kill infants | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | volume = 63 | issue = 11 | pages = 1549–1562 | date = September 2009 | pmid = 19701484 | pmc = 2728907 | doi = 10.1007/s00265-009-0827-1 | bibcode = 2009BEcoS..63.1549B }}</ref> Bonobos engage in sexual activity numerous times a day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reproduction (Part of the Extreme Mammals exhibition.) | work=American Museum of Natural History |url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/extreme-mammals/extreme-bodies/reproduction#:~:text=For%20the%20more%20promiscuous%20side,group%2C%20male%20and%20female%20alike |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215194504/https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/extreme-mammals/extreme-bodies/reproduction#:~:text=For%20the%20more%20promiscuous%20side,group%2C%20male%20and%20female%20alike |url-status=live }}</ref>

It is unknown how the bonobo avoids [[simian immunodeficiency virus]] (SIV) and its effects.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sharp PM, Shaw GM, Hahn BH | title = Simian immunodeficiency virus infection of chimpanzees | journal = Journal of Virology | volume = 79 | issue = 7 | pages = 3891–902 | date = April 2005 | pmid = 15767392 | pmc = 1061584 | doi = 10.1128/jvi.79.7.3891-3902.2005 }}</ref>

==== Peacefulness ====
[[File:Bonobo (Pan paniscus) at Lola Ya Bonobo - 3.JPG|thumb|Bonobo (''Pan paniscus'') mother and infant at [[Lola ya Bonobo]]]]
Observations in the wild indicate that the males among the related common chimpanzee communities are hostile to males from outside the community. Parties of males 'patrol' for the neighboring males that might be traveling alone, and attack those single males, often killing them.<ref name="Economist2010">{{cite news | date = June 24, 2010 | url = http://www.economist.com/node/16422404 | newspaper = [[The Economist]] | title = Chimpanzee behavior: Killer instincts | access-date = 2011-12-08 | archive-date = 2018-01-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180114195507/http://www.economist.com/node/16422404 | url-status = live }}</ref> This does not appear to be the behavior of bonobo males or females, which seem to prefer sexual contact over violent confrontation with outsiders.<ref name="NYT-20160910" />

While bonobos are more peaceful than chimpanzees, it is not true that they are unaggressive.<ref name=wrangham /> In the wild, among males, bonobos are more aggressive than chimpanzees, having higher rates of aggressive acts, about three times as much. Although, male chimpanzees are more likely to be aggressive to a lethal degree than male bonobos which are more likely to engage in more frequent, yet less intense squabbling. There is also more female to male aggression with bonobos than there is with chimpanzees.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/04/so-much-for-summers-of-love/#:~:text=Researchers%20observing%20bonobos%20and%20chimps,bonobos%20than%20among%20male%20chimps | title=Male bonobos fight three times as often as chimps, study finds | date=22 April 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Maud |last1=Mouginot |first2=Michael L. |last2=Wilson |first3=Nisarg |last3=Desai |first4=Martin |last4=Surbeck |year=2024 |title=Differences in expression of male aggression between wild bonobos and chimpanzees |journal=Current Biology |volume=34 |issue=8 |pages=1780–1785.e4|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.071 |pmid=38614078 |pmc=11167569 |bibcode=2024CBio...34.1780M }}</ref> Female bonobos are also more aggressive than female chimpanzees, in general. Both bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit physical aggression more than 100 times as often as humans do.<ref name=wrangham>{{cite book |vauthors=Wrangham R |title=The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution |date=2019 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-101-97019-5 |pages=19–20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOi9DwAAQBAJ |access-date=2020-03-10 |archive-date=2024-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309175059/https://books.google.com/books?id=pOi9DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Grooming de Zoé.jpg|thumb|Grooming: reinforcement of social links]]
Although referred to as peaceful, bonobo aggression is not restricted to each other, and humans have also been attacked by bonobos, and suffered serious, albeit non-fatal, injuries.<ref name="Questioning the “sexy” bonobo hype, part 2: a primatologist debunks Christopher Ryan - Incredulous" /> 
Bonobos are far less violent than chimpanzees, though, as lethal aggression is essentially nonexistent among bonobos while being not infrequent among chimpanzees.<ref name="lib.dr.iastate.edu"/>
It has been hypothesized that bonobos are able to live a more peaceful lifestyle in part because of an abundance of nutritious vegetation in their natural habitat, allowing them to travel and forage in large parties.<ref>{{cite journal|year=1988|title=Feeding competition and patch size in the chimpanzee species ''Pan paniscus'' and ''Pan troglodytes''|journal=Behaviour |volume=105 |issue=1/2 |pages=148–164 |doi=10.1163/156853988X00494 |jstor=4534684| vauthors = White FJ, Wrangham RW |s2cid=18285801}}</ref>

Recent studies show that there are significant brain differences between bonobos and chimpanzees. Bonobos have more grey matter volume in the right anterior insula, right dorsal amygdala, hypothalamus, and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, all of which are regions assumed to be vital for feeling empathy, sensing distress in others and feeling anxiety.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rilling JK, Scholz J, Preuss TM, Glasser MF, Errangi BK, Behrens TE | title = Differences between chimpanzees and bonobos in neural systems supporting social cognition | journal = Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience | volume = 7 | issue = 4 | pages = 369–79 | date = April 2012 | pmid = 21467047 | pmc = 3324566 | doi = 10.1093/scan/nsr017 }}</ref> They also have a thick connection between the [[amygdala]], an important area that can spark aggression, and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex, which has been shown to help control impulses in humans.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Davidson RJ, Putnam KM, Larson CL | title = Dysfunction in the neural circuitry of emotion regulation—a possible prelude to violence | journal = Science | volume = 289 | issue = 5479 | pages = 591–4 | date = July 2000 | pmid = 10915615 | doi = 10.1126/science.289.5479.591 | bibcode = 2000Sci...289..591D }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pezawas L, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Drabant EM, Verchinski BA, Munoz KE, Kolachana BS, Egan MF, Mattay VS, Hariri AR, Weinberger DR | display-authors = 6 | title = 5-HTTLPR polymorphism impacts human cingulate-amygdala interactions: a genetic susceptibility mechanism for depression | journal = Nature Neuroscience | volume = 8 | issue = 6 | pages = 828–34 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 15880108 | doi = 10.1038/nn1463 | s2cid = 1864631 }}</ref> This thicker connection may make them better at regulating their emotional impulses and behavior.<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Vastag B | date = 11 April 2011 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/brain-differences-may-explain-varying-behavior-of-bonobos-and-chimpanzees/2011/03/29/AFP2wUND_story.html | title = Brain differences may explain varying behavior of bonobos and chimpanzees | newspaper = The Washington Post | access-date = 26 December 2012 | archive-date = 14 February 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210214005916/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/brain-differences-may-explain-varying-behavior-of-bonobos-and-chimpanzees/2011/03/29/AFP2wUND_story.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

Bonobo society is dominated by females, and severing the lifelong alliance between mothers and their male offspring may make them vulnerable to female aggression.<ref name="NYT-20160910" /> De Waal has warned of the danger of romanticizing bonobos: "All animals are competitive by nature and cooperative only under specific circumstances" and that "when first writing about their behaviour, I spoke of 'sex for peace' precisely because bonobos had plenty of conflicts. There would obviously be no need for peacemaking if they lived in perfect harmony."<ref>{{cite web|vauthors=de Waal F|url=http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-08-08/|title=Bonobos, Left & Right|work=Skeptic |date=August 8, 2007|access-date=June 29, 2010|archive-date=November 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121030108/http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-08-08/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Surbeck and Hohmann showed in 2008 that bonobos sometimes do hunt monkey species. Five incidents were observed in a group of bonobos in [[Salonga National Park]], which seemed to reflect deliberate cooperative hunting. On three occasions, the hunt was successful, and infant monkeys were captured and eaten.<ref name=Surbeck />

There is one inferred intraspecies killing in the wild,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Parker |first=Ian |date=July 23, 2007 |title=Swingers |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |issue=July 30, 2007 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/07/30/swingers |url-access=limited |access-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328131137/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/07/30/swingers |url-status=live }}</ref> and a confirmed lethal attack in captivity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trauer um Bonobo Birogu |url=https://www.wuppertal.de/microsite/zoo/Aktuelles/20210115-trauer-um-bonobo-birogu.php |access-date=September 21, 2022 |website=Der Grüne Zoo Wuppertal |language=de |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526204313/https://www.wuppertal.de/microsite/zoo/Aktuelles/20210115-trauer-um-bonobo-birogu.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In both cases, the attackers were female and the victims were male.