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Impressive Arboreal Gap-Crossing Behaviors in Wild Bonobos, Pan paniscus

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Abstract

Most primates are arboreal, and the current context of habitat fragmentation makes gap- and road-crossing behaviors more and more common. Great apes may try to avoid behaviors such as arboreal leaping because given their size such behaviors are risky. Here, we report impressive gap-crossing by wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, induced by human disturbance and habitat fragmentation. We quantify the basic mechanics of leaps and arboreal landing performance in two individuals. The bonobos climbed a tree, 15 m high, and performed pronograde leaps between thin flexible branches, to grasp landing branches ca. 4 m further and below their starting point. They reached an instantaneous velocity of about 9 m · s−1. The bonobos used pendular swinging of landing branches to dissipate the kinetic energy built up during falling, requiring a grip force of about 2.5× body weight. Moreover, our results show that bonobos might be able to modulate the drag experienced during falling (up to 20% of body weight) by adjusting their posture. Apparently, bonobos evaluate the structural context to perform the best possible leap and balance the risks against the extra energetic costs involved. Further study of locomotor performance is needed to inform conservation planning, owing to the extent of habitat fragmentation due to human activities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mbou-Mon-Tour staff and especially our field assistants Osa Otsiu Epany and Mozungo Ngofuna. We thank French NGO Bonobo ECO and the Eco-anthropology unit of the CNRS for financial support. We thank the two referees for their constructive and detailed comments on the first version of the manuscript. We are very grateful to the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Primatology, Joanna M. Setchell, who revised the manuscript and improved the English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (UMR 7194 CNRS/MNHN), Paris, France

    François Druelle

  2. Functional Morphology Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    François Druelle & Peter Aerts

  3. Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, University of Ghent, Gent, Belgium

    Peter Aerts

  4. ONG Mbou-Mon-Tour, Territoire de Bolobo, Bolobo, République Démocratique du Congo

    Jean Christophe Bokika Ngawolo

  5. Eco-anthropologie (UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/Université de Paris), Paris, France

    Victor Narat

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  1. François Druelle
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  2. Peter Aerts
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  3. Jean Christophe Bokika Ngawolo
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  4. Victor Narat
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Contributions

VN conceived the initial part of the study and the methodology; VN and JCBN acquired funding and conducted fieldwork; FD and PA analyzed the data; and FD wrote the original draft. PA and VN reviewed the manuscript and JCBN provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to François Druelle.

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Handling Editor: Joanna M. Setchell

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Druelle, F., Aerts, P., Ngawolo, J.C.B. et al. Impressive Arboreal Gap-Crossing Behaviors in Wild Bonobos, Pan paniscus . Int J Primatol 41, 129–140 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-020-00140-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-020-00140-z

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