Bonobos on Cover of GEO

Geo, a German Geographical magazine, featured two of the orphaned bonobos I cared for in Kinshasa, Zaire, on its cover of the May, 1993 issue. What few probably noticed is that the female on the left had a third mammary in the center of her belly.

The title of the article in German was "Peace Through Sex." Frans de Waal, the author and Frans Lanting, the photographer went to Germany with the story because the American audience was considered too prudish. Four years later, they published the book with an overview of behavior, called Bonobo The Forgotten Ape.

Many scientists feel that bonobo's sexual behavior has been a detriment to getting its story out to the general public in the United States. This is too bad, because the little known species has serious threats to its continued existence in the Democratic of the Congo.