h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Great to see some serious discussion of the majestic bonobo in h2g2! Just a couple of clarifications, though...1)They aren't just closely related to chimps, they are a species of chimp - the pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, to be boringly precise - and as such are no more closely related to humans than common chimps (that's still pretty damn close, though), and 2)I feel you somewhat underemphasised the sex thing. Everything! EVERYTHING! Their brothers, their sisters, probably your sister. They're at it constantly, with everything in sight. Just as an example, when two female bonobos want to go out foraging together, they..."rub" each other. You know. And so on and so on and so on, until the primatologist gets embarrassed and looks away. Apparently it help build social bonds between them, hence the lack of violence in their society.

I get the feeling we humans could learn an awful lot from the bonobos...

We could learn a great deal from bonobos. But some we shouldn't. For example: parent/child sex until the kid turns five.