Gorillas!

I suppose between the last two posts, first with a post with a comic about having sex with a partially shaved gorilla, and my last post involving bonobos, this was ultimately going to end up here.

Yes, it’s almost two years old, but still fascinating!

The first video was captured of two gorillas mating face to face. Yes, both gorillas AND bonobos are fond of the missionary position. Does this mean it’s considered less holy now?

By the way, speaking of partially shaved gorillas…

Bonobos!

One of the first things I learned in Anthropology is that there are five great apes:
-Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)
-Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla — original, I know)
-Humans (Homo sapiens
-Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
-Bonobos (Pan paniscus)

When you tell most people this, they’re good up until the bonobo. “What the hell is a bonobo?!” they often ask. Bonobos are the only other extant members of the Pan genus. In lay terms: they’re closely related to chimpanzees. With chimpanzees, they’re the closest extant species to humans.

Originally called the pygmy chimp, the bonobo, like all other great apes, is endangered. Like all the great apes except the orangutan (who only live on the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra) come from Africa, and the bonobo’s home region is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Unlike the other great apes, however, bonobo society is run by females.

The one thing about bonobos that a lot of people seem to enjoy is the fact that they practice intercourse face to face. Yes, there are great apes who do it missionary style. Bonobos are very sexual creatures–they solve many problems by having sex and have no problem practicing frotteurism with members of the same sex. Strangely enough, this sex-driven, female run society is one of the most peaceful among the great apes.

Bonobos, like the other great apes, have considerable intelligence as well. They tend to be slightly less hyper and distraction prone than chimpanzees, which means working with them can often produce better results. Sue Savage Rumbaugh has spent many years researching intelligence in the great apes, and she’s a leading authority on bonobos.

One of my favorite online videos is about bonobos and their considerable mental capabilities. Because I am an insane nerd, I have watched this video at least five times and have shown it to many people I know. Now I am sharing it with you, internet! It’s a fifteen minute video, but when you have the time or are severely bored at work, sit down and check it out.

TED talk — Sue Savage Rumbaugh

A bonobo community peacefully existing together, possibly due to the fact that their leadership don’t feel it necessary to fight over who has the largest genitals.