The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) was created to unite the African sanctuaries that had emerged as a response to the deforestation, bushmeat, human encroachment and disease that was decimating wild primate populations. Rehabilitation projects for release back into the wild are problematic and have on the whole had limited success, therefore at present specially built sanctuaries remain the main alternative. Primate sanctuaries were created over the last three decades to accommodate the staggering numbers of orphaned and unwanted chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and other endangered primates in Africa. The growing need for sanctuaries is directly related to the steady increase in habitat disturbance/loss which results in the displacement of great apes.
Human expansion into new areas increases the probability of disease transmission that can be extremely dangerous to non-immune bonobos.īaby bonobos are also part of the illegal pet trade, and as adults are killed for consumption, many infants land up in markets across DRC. Like the other great apes, as bonobos are closely related to humans they are also affected by alien invasive species such as parasites and infectious diseases (e.g polio, ebola, herpes, hepatitis). Due to the limited distribution of this species, any factor isolating/fragmenting populations can result in inbreeding depressions.Īccidental death through snaring is an occasional occurrence, however as unhabituated bonobos are inherently wary around humans, this minimizes the possibility of bonobo-human conflicts. If bonobo populations are to increase, the DRC needs to create more protected areas and implement stricter laws and increased enforcement for existing reserves.īonobos produce few offspring over their lifetimes and therefore population growths are slow, thus any habitat disturbance can have profound affects on population sizes. Only two areas of bonobo habitat are protected by law, The Salonga National Park and the Luo River Scientific Reserve. As the current range of bonobos is extremely small, the effects of habitat loss on these restricted areas is devastating for bonobo populations. In the DRC commercial logging has created expansive habitat destruction and cleared land for agricultural use and human settlement. Intensification of legal and illegal logging, over-exploitation of forest products, population growth and explanation all have dire consequences for endemic species currently inhabiting forested regions. The fact this species exists in the wild in only the Democratic Republic if Congo with a limited range is a major contributing factor towards its vulnerability towards extinction. It is believed that sex serves numerous purposes other for procreation such as diffusing situations, affection, social status, stress reduction, food-sharing and excitement. Bonobos exhibit extremely strong sexual behaviour that is integral in daily communication between individuals of both the same and opposite sex. Like chimpanzee males, bonobo males stay in their natal groups, while females leave when reaching adulthood, this results in very strong bonds between male offspring and their mothers. Gestation lasts for 8 months resulting in a single offspring which is cared for by its mother for up to 5 years. Bonobos have no specific breeding season and female receptivity for mating is exhibited by swellings on the rump. Groups can contain from one to up to 150 individuals. This means that within the community small groups move together, and the composition of these groups is constantly changing. Bonobos, like chimpanzees are highly social and live in fission-fusion societies.
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