Pan paniscus

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses how bonobos provide the great contrast to chimpanzee’s significance for assessing human nature. Bonobos exhibited broad behavioral contrasts to chimpanzees as they do not form aggressive male coalitions, patrol territorial boundaries, stealthily penetrate neighbors’ ranges, or kill outsiders. It shows how bonobos cleave off from both humans and chimpanzees by lacking the suite of behaviors that constitutes male demonism and hunting. The chapter addresses the question of whether the chimpanzee/bonobo differences are innate and are the result of long-term natural selection. It examines different resources and impact situations channeled through a distinctive social organization and temperamental differences from nature/nurture interaction to explain the contrast between bonobos and chimpanzees.