Bonobo Meals in Kinshasa

The bonobos in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) received, to the best of our ability, a nutritious diet. We used ovens normally used to sterilize laboratory glassware to bake a bread that was made from wheat flour mixed with powdered milk and a vitamin/mineral "premix." We also added a small amount of blood or meat meal.

The "bread" was the concentrate base that provided protein and essential vitamins and minerals for optimal health and growth for the young bonobos. Small amounts of calorie dense, starchy, or high protein foods such as eggs, peanuts, manioc, corn, cooked rice, squash, and pumpkin were also eaten. The bonobos were given imported whole grains, raisins, cereals, and bird seed that was blended together. This was called the "scatter mix" because it was spread out on the ground for the animals to pick through, as an occupational activity.

The bulk of the diet consisted of locally available fruits and leafy greens. These included papaya, oranges, bananas, sugar cane, pineapple, spinach, hibiscus leaves, amaranth leaves and a wide variety of other indigenous fruits, greens, and vegetables. The goal of of the diet was to provide 25 different foodstuffs per day. The diverse array of local products made this a reasonable goal, but one that varied in composition tremendously throughout the seasons.

Imported foods, such as apples, were too expensive to feed the bonobos. Other foods such as carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, and watermelon were grown for sale to expatriates, but they were largely too costly for animal food.

The dishes above are being prepared, to be stored in a refrigerator until use. The plates represented the three "squares" given per day to each animal. They were topped off with the more bulky greens that were given at odd intervals. The bonobos were fed five or six times per day.

Photo by D. Messinger