Great Ape Childhoods: Social and Spatial Pathways to Independence in Bonobo and Chimpanzee Infants.

ABSTRACT: Human development is marked by extended immaturity, necessitating extended care throughout infancy and childhood, facilitating advanced cognitive, social, and cultural skill acquisition. Parallels of extended development are also present in our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), which differ markedly in their social systems. Bonobos live in more tolerant, female-bonded societies, while societies of chimpanzees are more hierarchical, and male-dominated. These differences in social ecology may thus also shape the pace and nature of early behavioural development. However, systematic, quantitative comparisons of developmental patterns of bonobos and chimpanzees are very limited, and results are conflicting. Hence, this study addressed this cruci

SUBMITTER: Vlaeyen JMR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12703578 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature