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Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.
What's In A Name?
Bonobo
"Bonobo" is most likely a misspelling of the word Bolobo, a small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the lone country inhabited by these gracile great apes. Another common name for the creature is "pygmy chimpanzee." This term too is somewhat of a misnomer, as the bonobo’s average size is equal to or even larger than that of one chimp subspecies, the eastern or long-haired chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii).
Takayoshi Kano, a leading bonobo field biologist, instead prefers the name elia (plural bilia), an indigenous African name for the animal. The Congolese apparently never use the term bonobo, and communication between local inhabitants and scientists is pivotal to conservation efforts.
The bonobo’s more appropriate scientific name, Pan paniscus, comes from the ancient Greek deity, Pan, a creature with a goat’s body, a person’s torso, and horns. Pan was a very playful deity—much like the bonobo—and was known for dancing to the sounds of his flute, frolicking in fields, and flirtatiously chasing nymphs through the forest.
ZooGoer 30(5) 2001. Copyright 2001 Friends of the National Zoo. All rights reserved.
