14 DAY TRIAL // Recent direct observations incriminate the so-called peaceful chimpanzee species without a shadow of a doubt. In three separate instances, the primates were observed successfully hunting and eating other primates' infants, after they've had enough fruits to eat. These observations severely oppose what was already known about bonobos and it seems that at least a few evolutionary models will have to be entirely rewritten.
Until now, these monkeys had a very peaceful reputation, as some kind of hippies if you will. Intercourses among and between genders are common sights in bonobo populations, used primarily as greetings, peace offerings or "make-up" solutions after conflicts. Also, they are very distinct from chimpanzees in that females are the most powerful members of the groups, not the males. This allows bonobos to form intricately social patterns within the group, but female predominance was also believed to be the main cause why these subspecies did not hunt for their meat.
Naturalists believed up to this point that bonobos simply take the meat they consume from other primates or from carcasses lying on the ground. But scientists supervising some populations in the LuiKotale region of the Salonga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, witnessed with amazement as packs of bonobos hunted down, killed, and then ate mangabey offspring three times, before daring to report this discovery to the international community.
Having discovered this bizarre behavior, biologists now hope to better understand the nature of the relationships inside primate groups, as well as how exactly female bonobos control all the males in the clan. It was widely believed until recently that chimpanzees hunt and kill other monkeys because their hierarchy is composed of males fighting for dominance. As a result, it would make sense that their society was based on violence. But how and why violence occurs in female-dominated societies is still a mystery to be solved.