Head to head
Chimpanzee vs Bonobo
The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the two species of the genus Pan, and together they are the closest living relatives of humans, sharing almost 99 per cent of our DNA. They look broadly similar and were long lumped together, with the bonobo once called the pygmy chimpanzee. But their societies are strikingly different, and the contrast has become a favourite case study in how the same raw material can produce very different social worlds.
| Chimpanzee | Bonobo | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Pan troglodytes | Pan paniscus |
| Where it lives | Equatorial Africa north of the Congo River | Democratic Republic of the Congo, south of the river only |
| Who holds power | Adult males; related males stay for life | Females, through alliances among unrelated females |
| Between-group conflict | Territorial patrols and, at times, lethal raids | No lethal intergroup violence recorded; sometimes peaceful mingling |
| Conflict within the group | Displays, fights, and reconciliation afterward | Often defused with sexual contact and grooming |
| Hunting and tools | Cooperative monkey hunts; extensive tool kit | Occasional hunting; little wild tool use |
| Build | Stockier, heavier upper body | More slender and long-legged, darker face, pink lips |
| Conservation status | Endangered | Endangered |
Chimpanzee vs Bonobo: common questions
Which ape is more closely related to humans, the chimpanzee or the bonobo?
Neither is closer; they are exactly equally related to us. Chimpanzees and bonobos share a common ancestor with each other that lived roughly one to two million years ago, most likely when the Congo River formed and split one population in two. The lineage leading to both of them separated from the lineage leading to humans much earlier, around six to eight million years ago. So from a human point of view, the chimpanzee and the bonobo are equally distant cousins, and comparing the two of them is a way of triangulating what our own last common ancestor with Pan might have been like, since we cannot know whether it was more chimp-like or more bonobo-like in behaviour.
Is it true that bonobos are peaceful and chimpanzees are violent?
That is the headline, and there is real evidence behind it, but it is oversimplified. Chimpanzees do carry out coordinated border patrols and have been documented killing individuals from other groups, and males can be aggressive toward females. Bonobos have never been recorded killing members of another group, tolerate strangers far better, and use sexual behaviour to reduce tension. However, bonobos are not gentle in every way: females sometimes gang up on and seriously injure males, and hunting does occur. And chimpanzees spend most of their time grooming, playing, and reconciling after fights, not fighting. The difference is real but it is a difference in emphasis and frequency, not a simple split between a savage species and a loving one.
How can you tell a chimpanzee and a bonobo apart?
In the field the differences are clear once you know them. A bonobo has a rounder head with a smaller brow, a black face from birth with distinctly pink lips, and long hair that often looks parted down the middle, and its body is leaner with noticeably longer legs, so it stands and walks upright more readily. A chimpanzee has a heavier brow, a face that is pale in youth and darkens with age, and a bulkier, more muscular upper body. Bonobos are also restricted to one country, so location is a strong clue: a wild Pan seen south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a bonobo, while one anywhere else in Africa is a chimpanzee.