Authors:
- Written by a unique primatologist who has studied both bonobos and chimpanzees in the wild for over three decades
- Uses simple, straightforward language to help general audiences as well as professional researchers learn about the similarities and differences between bonobos, chimpanzees and humans
- Introduces readers to the social atmosphere among bonobos and chimpanzees, drawing on a wealth of photographs taken by the author in the wild
Part of the book series: Primatology Monographs (PrimMono)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This book describes the similarities and differences between two species, bonobos and chimpanzees, based on the three decades the author has spent studying them in the wild, and shows how the contrasting nature of these two species is also reflected in human nature.
The most important differences between bonobos and chimpanzees, our closest relatives, are the social mechanisms of coexistence in group life. Chimpanzees are known as a fairly despotic species in which the males exclusively dominate over the females, and maintain a rigid hierarchy. Chimpanzees have developed social intelligence to survive severe competition among males: by upholding the hierarchy of dominance, they can usually preserve peaceful relations among group members. In contrast, female bonobos have the same or even a higher social status than males. By evolving pseudo-estrus during their non-reproductive period, females have succeeded in moderating inter-male sexual competition, and in initiating mateselection. Although they are non-related in male-philopatric society, they usually aggregate in a group, enjoy priority access to food, determine which male is the alpha male, and generally maintain much more peaceful social relations compared to chimpanzees.Lastly, by identifying key mechanisms of social coexistence in these two species, the author also seeks to find solutions or “hope” for the peaceful coexistence of human beings.
"Takeshi Furuichi is one of very few scientists in the world familiar with both chimpanzees and bonobos. In lively prose, reflecting personal experience with apes in the rain forest, he compares our two closest relatives and explains the striking differences between the male- dominated and territorial chimpanzees and the female-centered gentle bonobos."
Frans de Waal, author of Mama’s Last Hug - Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves (Norton, 2019)
Authors and Affiliations
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Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
Takeshi Furuichi
About the author
Dr. Takeshi Furuichi is a Professor at the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan. He has been studying bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and chimpanzees in Uganda for more than 35 years. His main interests are in the sexual behaviors and life histories of females. He also studies the evolutionary process of early humans, collaborating with researchers working on human fossils and hunter-gatherers.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Bonobo and Chimpanzee
Book Subtitle: The Lessons of Social Coexistence
Authors: Takeshi Furuichi
Translated by: Reiko Matsuda Goodwin
Series Title: Primatology Monographs
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8059-4
Publisher: Springer Singapore
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-13-8058-7Published: 06 December 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-13-8061-7Published: 25 November 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-981-13-8059-4Published: 22 November 2019
Series ISSN: 2190-5967
Series E-ISSN: 2190-5975
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VII, 149
Number of Illustrations: 15 b/w illustrations, 51 illustrations in colour
Topics: Popular Life Sciences, Zoology, Behavioral Sciences, Popular Science in Nature and Environment