Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A species of chimpanzee (Pan paniscus) found only in the Congo River basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, having black hair and a more slender build than the common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun an anthropoid ape (
Pan paniscus ), resembling but smaller than the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ); -- called alsopygmy chimpanzee . It is found in the forests of Zaire.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the
pygmy chimpanzee ,Pan paniscus , fromAfrica south of theCongo
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun small chimpanzee of swamp forests in Zaire; a threatened species
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Because females are dominant in bonobo society and everyone engages in plenty of very casual sex, bonobos are much admired by feminists, hippies and pacifists as “the peaceful apes”.
Bonobos news « PurpleSlog – Awesomeness & Modesty Meets Sexy 2008
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Because females are dominant in bonobo society and everyone engages in plenty of very casual sex, bonobos are much admired by feminists, hippies and pacifists as “the peaceful apes”.
2008 October « PurpleSlog – Awesomeness & Modesty Meets Sexy 2008
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Instead of a few days out of her cycle, the female bonobo is almost continuously sexually attractive and active. at Bonobos
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In 2000 the Max-Planck-Institut (MPI, Jena, Germany) with the ICCN Mundja Post, established a long-term bonobo study site outside the western boundary of the south block at Ipope.
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Often referred to as the “hippie” apes (partially because bonobos have a lot of casual sex … a perfectly acceptable “Hey, how’s it going?” in bonobo-speak), bonobos don’t quite live up to the moniker, it appears.
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He became particularly attached to Chim (later identified as a bonobo), admiring the animal's obvious intelligence and generous nature.
Jon Cohen's "Almost Chimpanzee," reviewed by Deborah Blum 2010
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There are other echo warriors who put their lives in jeopardy in West Africa protecting the forgotten ape called the bonobo, and closer to home we in North America battle constantly to ensure the preservation of our iconic mustangs.
One From The Hart Stefanie Powers 2010
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The bonobo is a close relative of both the chimpanzee and us.
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The bonobo is a pygmy chimpanzee said to be the most human-like of all apes.
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In human terms, the bonobo is a promiscuous, bisexual swinger.
Come Hither Dr. Gloria G. Brame 2000
vmarinelli commented on the word bonobo
One of the hornier species of primates, besides us humans (and with far fewer hangups about same-gender sexual relations). Remarkably peaceful apes.
February 6, 2007
polymorph commented on the word bonobo
Bonobos are the closest non-human relatives to us, with slightly more identical DNA than the chimpanzees who are second-closest. It is believed that all three descend from a common ancestor and that perhaps humans have inherited the capability for both the chimp's warlike nature and the bonobo's more peaceful tendencies.
It's worth noting that bonobos are matriarchal. The males are physically bigger than the females, but the females have learned to band together to enforce order.
And speaking of hangups, the first studies of the Bonobos couched some of their findings in Latin for fear of causing offense:
Sex, it turned out, is the key to the social life of the bonobo. The first suggestion that the sexual behavior of bonobos is different had come from observations at European zoos. Wrapping their findings in Latin, primatologists Eduard Tratz and Heinz Heck reported in 1954 that the chimpanzees at Hellabrun mated more canum (like dogs) and bonobos more hominum (like people). In those days, face-to- face copulation was considered uniquely human, a cultural innovation that needed to be taught to preliterate people (hence the term "missionary position"). These early studies, written in German, were ignored by the international scientific establishment. The bonobo's humanlike sexuality needed to be rediscovered in the 1970s before it became accepted as characteristic of the species.
Bonobo Sex and Society
April 8, 2007