The myth that bonobos are a peace-loving, gentle species can finally be killed this week. Killed like the monkeys that new research proves bonobos are hunting and eating in the forests of the Congo.

Female-dominated bonobo societies have often been considered ‘loving’, ‘hippie’ or ‘peacenik’. But in today’s issue of Current Biology Martin Surbeck and Gottfried Hohmann report direct evidence that they hunt monkeys, adding to their previous evidence (a grisly mangabey finger in a bonobo turd). The new paper shows they actively hunt monkey-meat, ruling out the possibility they took that mangabey away from another predator.

“The lack of male dominance and physical violence is often used to explain the relative absence of hunting and meat eating in bonobos,” says Hohmann (press release). “Our observations suggest that, in contrast to previous assumptions, these behaviours may persist in societies with different social relations.”

Primatologist primatologist Elizabeth Lonsdorf, told National Geographic: “The second I read this, I thought: Oh good, finally!”

Lonsdorf, of Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, adds, “Bonobos being so peaceful never sat well with me. We see all species of captive apes, including bonobos, hunting animals, like squirrels, that wander into their enclosures. I was just waiting for something like this to come up.”

More on violent bonobo society can be found in this Nature feature, Peaceful primates, violent acts.

Headline watch

Hippie apes make war as well as love, study finds – Reuters

Image: it looks cute now …. (bonobo photo by Maryrose_photos via Flickr).