A Kinder Gentler Ancestor
On Sunday morning I listened with rapt fascination to a radio program about the bonobo chimps.The bonobo is as genetically similar to humans as the chimpanzee. These peace-loving apes live in matriarchal societies and use sex to deal with competition and anger. They reside only in a very small area of forest below the Congo River in Africa and they've been at risk in recent years because of civil unrest, logging, and hunting. The Bonobo Conservation Initiative is creating a refuge for them called the Bonobo Peace Forest. Host Steve Curwood talks with Dr. Amy Parish, scientific advisor for the Initiative.Parish spoke eloquently about the matriarchal society of the bonobo and the insight it may give us to our own past. She speaks about human sexism practiced within zoos. Really interesting stuff. Listen to the whole Living on Earth program here.
posted by Peterson Toscano @ 1:59 PM
1 Comments:
Bobby, :-) I was going for the broader signifigance of the bonobo society, how they are less aggressive and power driven as chimpanzees. But yes, they do regularly display same-gender sexual activities, particularly among the females, but also the males.
Lesbian monkeys, what will they think of next?
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