Bonobo with Mouth Full of Fruit | Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Africa | Edward Mikol Photography

A female bonobo pauses, its mouth filled with fruit, while foraging in the early morning in DRC, Africa. — Bonobo with Mouth Full of Fruit

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Africa

Shortly after leaving its overnight nest, this female bonobo feasts on what appears to be the fruit of a wild pepper vine. The bonobo is an omnivorous frugivore; 57% of its diet is fruit, but this is supplemented with leaves, stems, honey, eggs, and meat from small vertebrates and invertebrates. In the DRC there are numerous wild fruit trees and vines on which they feed, and it is thought that certain plants may even be dependent on bonobos to disperse and activate the germination of their seeds.

Bonobos are listed endangered by the IUCN. The reasons are multifactorial, including hunting and poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, political instability and armed conflict. Decreasing numbers of bonobos can contribute to the defaunation of the forests leading to the empty forest syndrome, so-called due to the lack the large and medium-sized vertebrates crucial for ecological functions.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.

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