Sharing Culture and Language with Bonobos

Listening to Susan Savage-Rumbaugh is inspiring.  She knows bonobos. She understands them and attempts to make the rest of us see what some refuse to see.

The "forgotten ape" as Frans DeWaal like to call the bonobo, is not a pervert or  a beast.  It is a gentle, beautiful, intelligent creature, able to communicate and learn tasks by watching others.    An expert at resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner.

Through her studies , Savage-Rumbaugh is demonstrating that the capabilities of a species are not solely determined by biology but mainly by exposure to other cultures.

In this very inspiring video you will see bonobos writing, starting a fire, playing pac-man, grooming their baby.

Bonobos are an endangered species living in the Congo.  The estimated population of bonobos in situ is around 5,000.  It was estimated to about 10,000 in 1990.