Skansen Zoo Keeper with Bonobo

Tytte Hellman was a zookeeper at the Skansen Aqvariet in Stockholm, Sweden. In anticipation of Skansen receiving six bonobos on loan, she came to meet them in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Tytte is seen with Tshilomba, a young bonobo who is chewing a length of sugar cane.

Tytte got along famously with the youngest bonobos, but Mwindo, the biggest male, decided that she was a newbie to be tested. Mwindo had developed a bad habit, due to the reactions of visitors (whose exaggerated shouts of dismay only fueled his sense of humor) by throwing whatever was closest at hand. His aim was excellent. Every time he saw the soft spoken Tytte, he launched stuff at her, some of it not so nice.

Because Tytte's time in Kinshasa was brief, we attempted a course in manners. To win his favor, Tytte fed Mwindo his favorite foods for several days, but it made no difference. It seemed that the nicer Tytte was, the more he took advantage of her.

We only had a few more days before Tytte had to return, so we came up with a plan to establish what should have been normal -- females are dominant in bonobo society. The event was carefully engineered -- yelling loudly, Tytte entered the service area with a blow-up plastic snake.

The sight of the shiny green snake that Tytte brandished was so unexpected that Mwindo immediately went into a submissive posture, flattening against the ground. In true bonobo fashion, Mwindo dry-humped the floor, screaming in a shrill voice. I was watching, and recognized the behavior that this male always did when he was felt insecure and needed to ease the tension.

As planned, Tytte immediately "apologized" to Mwindo and offered him treats. From that instant, Tytte assumed status as a ranking female. And in typical bonobo fashion, Mwindo accepted the apology that she was chanting, "I'm so, so sorry, Mwindo to scare you. I'm sorry, have a banana to make it feel better. I won't do it again."

Although the introduction worked well, the six bonobos were not destined to go to Sweden.