This amazing photograph, taken at the Lukuru Wildlife Research Project field site, shows bonobos in the wild, wading in a perennial pool. One animal has already climbed up the bank, and her ischial callosities shine ghostlike in the darkness of the forest gloom. (Perhaps the shiny rears serve as beacons for others to follow?)
Two bonobos are caught, still in the water. The shimmer on the image comes from this picture being taken from a lens peeking out through a screen of foliage. These animals were habituated by Dr. Jo Thompson, and they were going about their day without being upset by her presence.
The regional villagers have a nonchalant, anthropomorphic viewpoint of bonobos, "Oh yeah, they go in the water, to wash themselves. They 'soap' up and then they rinse, just like people. And they fish in the water." (There is no evidence that bonobos eat fish, although they consume subaquatic vegetation.)
Photo by J. Thompson, all rights reserved
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