|
|
|
Photo courtesy www.daveliggett.com
|
Bonobos are found mainly in Central Zaire, but are
also found in national parks in the Congo (The Bonobo Initiative, 2003). They
are found in dry, primary and secondary tropical lowland forests, at the
crown and shrub level. Bonobos eat mostly fruits and vegetables, but will
also eat shoots, leaves, flowers, seeds, barks, pith, herbs, invertebrates,
and small vertebrates such as flying squirrels and young forest duikers
(small antelope found in rainforests). They are also known to eat termite
clay for essential minerals, and have been recorded to eat 113 different
types of plants per year (Pygmy Chimpanzee, 2000). The bonobos also obtain
72.22% of their food sources from secondary forests (Sabater-Pi, 1994).
Bonobos are also known to eat a large amount of Terrestrial Herbaceous Vegetation
(THV) which they consume to provide their main source of protein (duikers are
a delicacy). Their consumption of large amounts of THV suggest the bonobos
superior shearing ability, as well as extraction of essential elements from
food. Also, because within the Bonobo habitat,
the food source is plentiful, which also reduces feeding competition and
aggressive encounters (Malenky, 1994)
|