Bonobos look very similar to chimpanzees but are slightly slimmer, with longer legs, a flatter face, a pinker mouth and hair that parts neatly down the middle of their head. Scientists only confirmed that bonobos were a separate species from chimpanzees in the 1920s — before that, everyone thought they were the same animal.
Bonobo society is led by females, which is quite unusual among great apes. The most senior females help decide where the group travels, who eats first, and how disagreements are sorted out. Young bonobos are looked after by the whole group — not just by their own mothers.
Bonobos are highly intelligent and very good at communicating. They use more than 30 different calls, plus gestures and facial expressions. In research centres, some bonobos have learned to communicate with humans using symbols on a special keyboard. One famous bonobo named Kanzi could understand more than a thousand English words!
In the wild, bonobos spend most of their time in the treetops of the Congo rainforest, eating fruit, leaves and small animals. They travel through the forest in loose groups, calling out to let others know where they are. Their home — the Congo Basin rainforest — is under the care of Salonga National Park.