Kinshasa, DRC - Monday 14 May 2007 - Bonobo, our single closest relatives

On Sunday Lilliane took me to the outskirts of Kinshasa into the "jungle" where we met up with our closest relatives, the Bonobo apes. The sanctuary we visited are protecting and breeding Bonobo chimpanzees (or pygmy chimps) and is a nice haven only 45 minutes from the city centre. Unfortunately it took us 6 hours to reach back home, but that's another infrastructural story.

Sadly enough there are still people (mostly in the city) that appreciate bush meat and the Bonobos are especially in danger as they are few and it takes 12-15 years for them to reproduce. It is said that they are our closest relatives and their gene pattern is almost up to our own. Visiting the sanctuary gives you a feeling of hope, thinking about all the people that are making the effort to protect endangered spices. Read more about the Bonobo project at Bonobo Initative