Footprint, Bonobo 4013

In Kinshasa, when I anesthetized a bonobo for an exam, I also tested ways to permanently identify them. I tried "fingerprinting," rather, "footprinting," for a unique identification. I used regular India ink, brushed it on with a paint brush, and then pressed the foot to a sheet of paper. I preferred the feet because of the anatomical abnormalities seen, such as the bent little toe above, that could not be straightened out.

The footprint was also a way to look at the webbing between the digits, a common bonobo characteristic. Number 4013 had webbing between the first and second toes, half-way to the first knuckle joints.