Bonobo Foraging on Stems
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Africa
Bonobos spend a great deal of time amongst the trees. There they shelter at night in the nests they build each evening. As the day begins, they arise from their nests and make their way down the canopy in search of food. Their diet consists mainly of plant products including fruit, seeds, sprouts, leaves, flowers, bark, stems, pith, roots, and mushrooms.
In the DRC’s tropical rainforests, many plants need animals to reproduce and disperse their seeds. After elephants, bonobos are the second largest frugivorous animals in this region. It is estimated that during its life, each bonobo will ingest and disperse nine tons of seeds from many plant species. These seeds travel in the bonobo digestive tract, are sometimes carried over great distances, and are then deposited to germinate. The disappearance of the bonobos, which disperse seeds of 40% of the tree species in these forests, would have drastic consequences for the conservation of the Congo’s rainforests.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
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