Bonobo And Chimpanzee Comparison Essay

The bonobo and the chimpanzee are physiologically very similar, so much so that bonobos were considered a subspecies of the chimpanzee for quite a while before they were destinguished as their own species. While the chimp is slightly larger, they are relativaly the same. They both are terrestrial and arboreal at times; The chimpanzee makes nests in trees at night. Though they look fairly similar, the bonobo and the chimpanzees vairy wildly when it comes to social and behavioural traits. Chimpanzees live in large groups of many male and female individuals. Within these groups there is a hierarchy with an alpha male at the top. The most important bonds within this group are bonds between male members of the community. Chimps are omnivorous, having been observed cooperating together to hunt and catch monkeys. They can be very violent, but also very kind and caring to each other. Bonobos, on the other hand, while still being a mixed community of individuals, is based off a hierarchy with female bonobos as the alpha. The children of high ranking individuals are likely to inherit their hierarchal rank. Unlike the chimpanzees, the bonobo are mostly frugivorous and much less conflict is seen within bonobo communities.

With similar genetics and physiological traits, it suggests that the three species are quite similar. While there are several differences between chimpanzees and bonobos, that stems from many generations of divergence after this common ancestor. Humans share some similarities with both the bonobo and the chimpanzee including diet, social and sexual tendencies, and many other things. Comparing the three species makes it clear that both bonobos and chimpanzees share a common evolutionary past to