(Photo taken by Kabir Bakie at the Cincinnati Zoo May 2005; click image to follow link)
Pan paniscus, or the Bonobo Chimpanzee, lives only in a single forest in the Congo; this limited range, coupled with a recent decade of civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has aided the demise and endangerment of the Bonobo.
Compared to its sister species Pan troglodytes, or the Common Chimpanzee, whose aggressiveness produces long-lasting and brutal tribal wars and genocide, the Bonobos are said to represent the more benevolent side of human nature. Intelligent and self-aware, Bonobos also engage in frequent sexual activities, apparently for the benefit of individuals and their communities, which can serve as a greeting, a means of conflict resolution, or post-conflict reconciliation and may also preempt communal conflicts and disorder and promote cooperation in some cases.
