Bonobos are endangered for two main reasons. The human population in the Congo is ever growing and moving, and only part of the Bonobo population live in government protected areas. 16 monthly donors. BCI’s field teams are on the front lines of the fight to save bonobos. The first is that local people poach Bonobos, killing them for their meat. Though the size of the bonobo population is largely unknown, it has likely been declining for the last 30 years. 532 donors. But often they know less about a primate that is equally close and just as fascinating — the bonobo… Congo WarThe Congo War, which ended in 2003, claimed more than 5 million lives. Bonobos share 98.7% of their genetic code with humans, making them, along with chimpanzees, our closest living relatives. Wiki User Answered . BCI and partners have rescued more than two dozen orphans, giving them a second chance at life. Bonobos are dying out because they are being poached, and because they died in the Congo War. In a region where more than 90% of residents can only afford to eat one meal each day, people are increasingly turning to wild sources for meat, both for sustenance and for profit in the commercial bushmeat trade. It gets even worse, modern weaponry and ammunition are more available and are enabling hunting, and the military has at times has made it legal to allow the hunting and killing of bonobos. This combined with the slash-and-burn agriculture, and the commercial logging in the Congo, leaves the Bonobos outside protected areas vulnerable of losing their homes/ habitats. The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) is the only international organization dedicated solely to conservation of bonobos in their natural habitat. "Bonobos that live in closer proximity to human activity and to points of human access are more vulnerable to poaching, one of their main threats," Janet Nackoney, a research assistant professor at University of Maryland, said.
The researchers believe that for bonobos to survive over the next 100 years or more, it is vital for humans to understand the apes’ range, their distribution, and the factors that determine their distribution to assist conservation efforts. In the left you can see the increase of poaching during the years. The Max Planck Institute hosts the A.P.E.S database, “a comprehensive database of all that is known about great ape distribution throughout their range, in order to better conserve them.”. The researchers used data from nest counts and remote-sensing imagery to find that bonobos, which are considered to be one of humankind's closest living relatives, keep away from areas of high human activity and forest fragmentation. They thwart poachers, and they gather critical information about bonobos and their behavior. When killed they only sell for $50.....why would you kill a precious creature for only $50. Our field teams have done outstanding work to habituate groups of bonobos to human presence, allowing scientists to observe them more closely. We are hard at work expanding the Bonobo Peace Forest, a constellation of linked community-based reserves and conservation concessions. They are also killed by alligators and other animals. Bonobos … Protecting bonobos is BCI’s primary mission. Research was disrupted since the early 1990s by political unrest, culminating in the Congo Wars (1996-2003). The most heartbreaking consequence of the illegal bushmeat trade is the orphans who are left behind. They inhabit a remote, densely forested area, most of which is accessible only by boat or bush plane. Currently in the area the Bonobos live in (DRC) there is civil unrest, which has led to the death of many Bonobos. Current estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000 bonobos left in the wild—but what is clear is that the population, small to begin with, is fragmented and decreasing. To combat the rampant problem of poaching, WWF has provided training, improved transportation, and communication and other field equipment for antipoaching units in Salonga National Park and helps the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) to establish sustainable funding for antipoaching activities in the park. For gangs of poachers have been free to invade Salonga National Park, one of few protected areas for bonobos. The collective threats impacting wild bonobos include: poaching, civil unrest, habitat degradation, and a lack of information about the species. Too small to be killed for meat, they are put on the black market as pets or they are abandoned, unable to survive alone. Bonobos were the last of the great apes to be discovered and are still understudied.
Specific bonobo body parts are believed to enhance sexual vigor or strength. The number of bonobos lost to poaching each year is not known, but the number of bonobo charms available in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo suggests that poaching may be common. Why Are the Bonobos Endangered???? It also allows hunters to enter previously inaccessible areas of the forest via logging roads, perpetuating the bushmeat trade. 9 fundraisers. Since the end of the Congo War in 2003, research has increased dramatically. Bonobo apes, primates unique to Congo and humankind's closest relative, groom one another at a sanctuary just outside the capital Kinshasa. Home: What We Do Our Founder Research Join … Due to years of war and insufficient infrastructure, the journey to marketplaces is long and arduous; smoked meat is one of the only commodities durable enough to withstand the trek. In addition, unrest has made modern weaponry and ammunition more available, enabling hunting, and the military has at times sanctioned the hunting and killing of bonobos. Washington, DC 20037. However, others kill the Bonobos when they come in their villages. Efforts to survey the species over the past two decades have been hampered by the remote nature of its habitat, the patchiness of their distribution and years of civil unrest within the DRC. Civil unrest in the region around the bonobo’s home territory has led to many bonobo deaths, as gangs of poachers have been free to invade Salonga National Park, one of few protected areas for bonobos. 1250 24th Street, N.W. The researchers added that the current study of suitable bonobo habitat could help identify areas that have not yet been surveyed but could likely support the apes' survival. They are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. "Bonobos are probably the least understood great ape in Africa, so this paper is pivotal in increasing our knowledge and understanding of this beautiful and charismatic animal,” Ashley Vosper of the Wildlife Conservation Society said, in the statement. Jacqueline Conciatore . Bonobos are a type of great ape, like humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas. According to researchers, distance from agricultural areas was the most important predictor of bonobo presence. They inhabit a remote, densely forested area, most of which is accessible only by boat or bush plane. DRC. Many people in the Congo would be lucky to eat one good meal a…
More information is needed about bonobo population size, range, habitat, and behavior to ensure their long-term survival. Their habitat is also being destroyed by man. For every orphan found, at least one adult bonobo has been killed, and often many more. Successful conservation requires a great deal of knowledge about what a species needs for survival and the factors that contribute to its endangerment. A growing and moving human population, combined with slash-and-burn agriculture and commercial logging, leaves bonobos outside parks at risk of losing their homes. “The results of the study demonstrate that human activities reduce the amount of effective bonobo habitat and will help us identify where to propose future protected areas for this great ape,” Jena R. Hickey of Cornell University and the University of Georgia, and the study's lead author, said in a statement. I’m Faith Lapidus. This practice quickly depletes the soil of its natural nutrients and requires the clearing of new plots every few planting cycles, driving agricultural activity deeper into the rainforest and encroaching upon bonobo habitat. They have the only great ape society led by females, with a sophisticated social structure that encourages cooperation and peace.”. They live in the Congo Basin, which is a huge forest, almost three times the size of France. facing a very high risk of extinction in the near future. Bushmeat HuntingBushmeat hunting is the greatest threat to wild bonobo populations. Bonobos first became vulnerable in 1986 and were declared an endangered species in 1996. Bonobos are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, i.e. Using the data, the researchers produced more than two thousand "nest blocks” where each block is defined as a 1-hectare area occupied by at least one bonobo nest. Extreme poverty, degraded infrastructure, and social impacts have led to increased pressures on natural resources and wildlife.Agricultural EncroachmentSubsistence agriculture in the Congo region relies on slash and burn farming, which is the practice of cutting and burning trees and vegetation to clear plots for planting crops. The bonobo, an endangered species of apes found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is rapidly losing its territory to a burgeoning human population that has triggered deforestation and rampant poaching, according to a new study jointly conducted by University of Georgia, University of Maryland, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund and other groups. Although bonobos are not a subspecies of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), but … The endangered bonobo: Africa's forgotten ape. Bonobos are usually a bit smaller, leaner and darker than chimpanzees.
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