Chimpanzees and bonobos engage in genital rubbing to alleviate social tension

Some chimpanzees seem to use sexual behaviors like genital rubbing to manage stressful situations. This shows that our closest living relatives – or in fact, as we thought, isn’t that different from highly sensitive bonobos.

Jake Brooker Durham University in the UK and his colleagues investigated the sexual behavior of non-human primates Rolaya Bonobo Sanctuary The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chimhunsi Wildlife Orphanage Trust In Zambia. Both sanctuaries contain a mixture of wild and captive-born apes, allowing them to roam freely and forage within them.

Researchers observed 53 bonobos (Pampaniscus) It spans three groups: Lola Ya Bonobo and 75 chimpanzees (Pantrogloid) across two groups of chimhunsi over the course of the feeding event of events, including swings distributing limited supply of peanuts to specific regions.

“Bonobos and chimpanzees both live in extremely complex social structures. Zanna Clayat Durham University. Predicting such feeding events can be stressful due to the competition for those who will first reach the food.

Researchers observed 107 instances of genital contact in bonobos and 201 instances of chimpanzees five minutes before 45 feeding events in five groups.

“This involves placing your hands or feet in another primate's biogenic area, and it could also involve the genital organs that touch each other, like the bonobo's very well-known genital friction behavior,” says Brooker.

This study revealed differences between species. “We found that sex frequency in these situations was more common in other women and female bonobos, but more common among chimpanzee men,” says Clay. It may be related to the fact that bonobos live in patriarchal groups, but chimpanzees live in patriarchal groups, she says.

“By using sex as a social tool to navigate all kinds of social issues, bonobos have given them a bit of a reputation as a kind of sexy hippie ape,” says Clay. “This study shows that the differences between the two species are not as large as previously assumed. Chimpanzees are known to be aggressive and violent, but in reality they have a truly rich repertoire of behaviors used to manage social life.”

“Chimpanzees definitely draw PR short straws compared to bonobos.” Matilda Brindle At Oxford University.

Chimpanzees use sex in ways that go beyond breeding, unlike human sexuality, but we don’t just have sex for breeding, says Clay. for example, Stress reduction It was given as a reason for people to have sex.

Kit Opie At the University of Bristol in the UK, I wonder if the same level of behavior can be seen in wild environments rather than sanctuaries.

The work may also shed light on our last common ancestors, who lived around five to seven million years ago, before humans branch out from dicks and bonobos, he says.

“If we consider that all three use sexual behaviors to navigate social relationships, it is likely that the common ancestors we share did too,” Brindle says.