Hey guys, I just wanted to see if there was anyone that loved these chimps as much as I, and wanted to see if we can save this animal from becoming extinct. In this day and age of warfare and fighting, it seems ridiculous that an animal that is known more for caring than aggression could be subject to extintion.
Anyway, here is my plan to help save the Bonobos!! LEt me know what you think. Back in the middle ages, a young man named Nick began to look more closely at his surroundings. He had seen what War and evil had done to people, and he just thought there was a better way. For years, there had been rumors of a society in Africa where people helped each other, and lived a type of communal life. It was rumored that the kindness shined as bright as the Sun, and Nick knew he had to go search for this tribe of people for one very important reason: Nick, having seen the hatred and pure evil of people began to lose his faith in humanity!! While traveling on what is known today as the Congo River, his boatcapsized, and he was thrown into the water. As he clutched onto the rocks, and just as he felt he was passing out, he saw a hand reach out to him... When young Nick woke, he found himself not amidst people, but a band of monkeys who were being really friendly towards him, and eachother. Though a frisky bunch, Nick observed for the first time "unlimited giving", and he loved it. He stayed with the Bonobos for five years, learning how to give to others, and loving that feeling. He also realized that this sort of philosophy of "unlimited giving" was not meant for people, and began to see that people are made up to think and look out for themselves. Whereas five years before, this type of behavior upset him, he realized these were important parts to humanity, and it was based upon this realization that he decided he wanted to help all people, everywhere. Nick moved to the North Pole because he knew in order to best serve society, he needed to be away from everyone. There were many reasons for this type of isolation, and mostly it was to observe society in a different way. Well, now that Santa has decided to move his home to the beaches, he asked his friends, and mentors, if they watned to help. Cheka volunteered, and they hope to teach children the value of giving something, even as small as a smile, to one another, and want to teach the younger generation it is okay to care. Cheka the Bonobo has every bit of a chance to be as big as Rudolf the reigndeer, and this will do a few things: Since hte Bonobo are losing their homeland, a portion of all merchandise sales, and other money made from Cheka, will go towards helping them out...This character will not only help teach children about lovign and caring, but it will also help save a worth animal.
Nice story. I'm partial to gorillas myself, but bonobos are nice (and they are apes, not monkeys... don't want to offend any bonobos on here). Its crazy that humans are equally related to the free-loving bonobos and to the common chimpanzee. Unlike the bonobos, common chimpanzees are chauvinistic baby-killing cannibalistic rapists.
Yeah, I read about the Bonobos at the height of me dressing like Santa, and believe if Santa were to save an animal, it would be the Bonobo ( this comes from years of experience as SAnta) Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't the Bonobos make an excellent tool in helping children learn about sharing and being nice to eachother? The story I sent you is just part of the Santa Campaign I am hoping to launch, and has a similiar purpose to Rudolf. The only difference is that proceeds would go to helping out not just the Bonobs, but other endangered animals. P.S. I know all about the Bonobos other interest: sex. Though this might offend many parents, that is just something I would like to leave out. I mean, kids don't have to know about this, and besides, other groups, upon hearing about this interest might be more inclined to help the Bonobo. It just seems like an animal to save.
i could warm up to the idea of bonobos becoming apart of the ho ho holidays as long as they are wearing tightywhities and try really hard to keep from rubbing thier genitals directly on my christmas goodies.
watch this when you're trippin [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJAH4ZJBiN8]YouTube - Chimpanzee Memory Test[/ame]
hey you can even play against the chimp here Lumosity Games - Are you smarter than a chimp? my record is 7
Bonobo's certainly stood primatology on it's head when they were finally recognized as a distinct species from Chimpanzees.
When was this? I guess I don't know all the facts about the Bonobos...I have never seen one in person...I guess I think they represent the good in people in the Animal Kingdom, and seems to share Santa's motto of "unlimited giving" to a degree...No way do I want these guys going extinct on my watch...LOL!! I think this could be a fun campaing putting these two campaigns together.
The 1990's when DNA lineages showed that the common ancestors of chimps and the bonobo's became separated when the Congo River formed several million years ago. Bonobos live south/southwest of the Congo,chimps north and east of the Congo. Chimps resolve social stress through violence and mini-wars. Bonobos resolve things through sex.
Another interesting fact is that chimps are profoundly male dominant while bonobos are FEMALE dominant. Bonobos are the only female-dominant ape, and female dominance is rare in general among primates.
I love this fact about them...I minored in Women Studies in College, and have an assortment of Rosie the Riveter items in my room. I think I have always been pro-women... How come these guys don't get that much press? Seriously, it would seem easy as fuck to promote these guys, and I think people would respond to them... I can understand why the Giant Panda gets major play, but man, we need to show the Bonobos some love...The world would be a better place if there were more Bonobos.
There was quite a bit of research going on regarding them until civil war broke out after the ouster of Mobutu. It's too dangerous to get into the regions they inhabit most of the time. No one knows how many have been killed in the bush meat trade. Bonobos also walk upright occasionally for short distances. They "cruise" from feature to feature like a toddler learning to walk. There was a nice scholarly book written on them in the mid-90's,but the title escapes me.
i am utterly obsessed with apes! Orangutans and chimps especially, but when i see these documentarys about bonobos...i just sit and wonder why we as humans, obviously smarter and "Wiser" then these apes, why we are so cruel and indecent as to send them to extinction. Especially since chimps are fast declining in numbers due to the notorious bush meat trade. how can a human bring themselves to kill and eat a chimp. It is a sad world. As for bonobos, i truly believe when i watch them in, that they are a slightly EVER so slightly less intelligent version of the cave man. They are truly amazing.
Again, it makes me wonder why more is not being done to save these apes...You would think they have alll the qualities in an animal worth saving: kindness, passive, intelligence. Make Love, Not War...You would think some of these anti-war activists would have taken up the Bonobo Cause and use them as a symbol to encourage peace... What am I missing? Why isn't more being done? Gosh, I really wish I could help these guys.
Nice article about the local people and bonobos: :: Bonobo Conservation Initiative :: Projects As far as animal conservation goes, I think the apes get plenty of attention. Its the less well-known animals that aren't as charismatic as bonobos that get forgotten even though they are just as ecologically important and are the consequence of billions of years of natural selection. So my point is, I'm a fan of conserving entire ecosystems. Its too easy to focus only on the species that trigger our empathy reflexes because they look like us or have Disney movies made about them.