” During the birth event, which occurred at the Luikotale Bonobo Project field site, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the researchers discovered that wild bonobos do not give birth alone. The new mother, a female called Luna, was surrounded by two other female bonobos offering companionship and support.”
From here.
I asked a friend of mine, Sean Lee, about what he’s observed of bonobos and alloparenting. He said, “ Based on my own observations there is actually very little direct “helping” from other females in the form of carrying, nursing, etc. However, compared to chimpanzee females who GENERALLY range alone with their offspring, bonobo females are often in the presence of several other unrelated females w offspring of their own. This is a stark difference in social structure between our two closest living relatives and is thought to account for a lot of the other cool differences we see between them. I am interested in
whether this increased “gregariousness” of bonobo females relative to chimps increases
social opportunities for their bonobabies. If there are benefits to these early social opportunities, and if other females in the group contribute to these opportunities by playing, grooming, or just plain hanging out with other females’ kids, then I would say yes, bonobo females do indeed help each other out with childcare.”
