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Social structures in Pan paniscus: testing the female bonding hypothesis

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Abstract

Based on previous research in captivity, bonobos, Pan paniscus, have been called a female-bonded species. However, genetic and behavioural data indicate that wild females migrate. Bonding between these unrelated females would then be in contradiction with socio-ecological models. It has been argued that female bonding has been overemphasized in captive bonobos. We examine patterns of proximity, grooming and support behaviour in six well established captive groups of bonobos. We find that female bonding was not a typical characteristic of all captive bonobo groups. In only two groups there was a trend for females to prefer proximity with other females over association with males. We found no evidence that following or grooming between females was more frequent than between males and unrelated females or between males. Only in coalitions, females supported each other more than male–female or male–male dyads. We also investigated five mother–son pairs. Grooming was more frequent among mothers and sons than in any other dyad, but sons did not groom their mothers more than males groomed unrelated females. Mothers groomed their sons, or provided more support to them than females groomed or supported unrelated males. Thus, while bonds between females were clearly present, intersexual relations between males and either unrelated females or their mothers are of more, or equal importance.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the directory and keepers of Planckendael Wild Animal Park (Belgium), Apenheul Primate Park (The Netherlands), Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) and Twycross Zoo (UK) for their help and interest in this study. This research was funded by a Ph.D. grant of the Institution for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT-Vlaanderen: grant number 3340). We thank the Flemish Government for structural support of the Centre for Research and Conservation of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Jeroen M. G. Stevens, Hilde Vervaecke & Linda Van Elsacker

  2. Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Koningin Astridplein 26, 2018, Antwerp, Belgium

    Jeroen M. G. Stevens, Hilde Vervaecke & Linda Van Elsacker

  3. Department of Behavioral Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 14, 80.086, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Han De Vries

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  1. Jeroen M. G. Stevens
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  2. Hilde Vervaecke
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  3. Han De Vries
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  4. Linda Van Elsacker
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Correspondence to Jeroen M. G. Stevens.

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Stevens, J.M.G., Vervaecke, H., De Vries, H. et al. Social structures in Pan paniscus: testing the female bonding hypothesis. Primates 47, 210–217 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-005-0177-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-005-0177-1

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