I was playing around with drawing and painting a bonobo. Before I do a final painting, I like to paint it loosely as a "sketch" without drawing it out first to see how it goes. Even though this bonobo is a little rough, I had fun with this sketch so thought I would share.
I spoke with Ashley Stone, founder of the Bonobo Project for our podcast. Her episode will be published on November 28th! Listen in to learn more about Ashley and the bonobos. I learned a lot about bonobos and during my research and with speaking with Ashley. I also fell in love with these animals. In every picture you see of two or more, they are playing, hugging, having sex and always in phyical contact with each other. They are referred to as the "Make Love Not War" great apes (no they are not monkeys). Out of all the great apes, which include humans, they have never been known to kill one of their own kind. Definitely on the opposite spectrum for violence than humans. I think everyone should know about bonobos because we have a great deal to learn from their behavior.
Facts of bonobos:
They are a matriarchal society
They are the most peaceful of the great apes
They are humans closest living genetic relative
They are greatly endangered
There are only ~15,000 left in the wild
*all photos from The Bonobo Project
