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Study Finds Bonobos Are as Aggressive as Chimpanzees, Targeting Males More

Observations across 22 zoo groups challenge the long-held image of inherently gentle bonobos under controlled conditions.

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Bonobos live in matriarchal societies where one would expect more aggression among females, but researchers observed more hostility towards males
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Overview

  • Peer-reviewed research in Science Advances reports no overall difference in absolute aggression rates between bonobos and chimpanzees.
  • Aggression patterns diverge by sex: in chimpanzees it is largely male-driven toward both sexes, whereas in bonobos both sexes aggress but mostly toward males.
  • Researchers recorded both contact and non-contact aggression, including behaviors such as charging, chasing, biting, slapping, and object throwing.
  • The study tracked 13 captive bonobo groups (88 individuals) and 9 captive chimpanzee groups (101 individuals), documenting 3,243 aggressive acts in total.
  • Authors caution that findings come from zoo settings and show substantial variation between groups, and they suggest aggression likely existed in the last common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos.