Lola ya Bonobo is the world's only sanctuary for orphaned

bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (the other bei ...

s. Originally founded by

Claudine André Claudine André (born 6 November 1946), is a Belgian conservation movement, conservationist. She founded Lola ya bonobo in 1994, which is a bonobo sanctuary, just south of Kinshasa, at Mont Ngafula, in the Lukaya River, Lukaya Valley, Democratic ...

in 1994, since 2002 the sanctuary has been located just south of the suburb of

Kimwenza Kimwenza is a neighborhood in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Mont Ngafula commune in the south of the capital, Kinshasa. Location Kimwenza is on a plateau above the main city of Kinshasa. It is near to the Petites Chutes de la Lukay ...

at the

Petites Chutes de la Lukaya The Petites Chutes de la Lukaya (French; "Small falls of the Lukaya") is a set of small waterfalls on the Lukaya River. They are just south of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are about high. During the ...

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. Lola ya Bonobo means 'heaven for bonobos' in

Lingala Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser de ...

, a primary language of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lola ya Bonobo is home to about 60

s who live in 30 hectares of primary forest. Lola ya Bonobo is a member of the

Pan African Sanctuary Alliance The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) is the largest association of wildlife centers and sanctuaries in Africa, consisting of 23 organizations in 13 countries. As an alliance, PASA works to secure a future for Africa’s primates by rescuing a ...

. Typically,

s arrive as young infants. The

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...

trade in the Congo area sees hundreds of endangered bonobos killed each year for meat. The infants are sold as pets. When confiscated by government authorities, these young bonobos are taken to Lola ya Bonobo. They start a new life at the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

with close care from a substitute human mother in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

. After being medically cleared and ready, they are integrated into a peer group ( in the nursery). Once they have matured sufficiently, they leave the care of substitute human mothers, and are integrated into one of the large, mixed-age social groups. These social groups are divided among several enclosures which allow them to receive care and nourishment from the team at the sanctuary, while allowing them to explore the forest and bond with each other. Although the bonobos are captive, they live in an environment similar to the wild. They can forage among dozens of edible plants and fruiting trees, compete for mating opportunities, and learn to avoid dangers such as stepping on venomous snakes just as they would in the wild. As a result, the bonobos at th
Lola ya Bonobo
sanctuary, living in their forested microcosm, show all the naturally occurring behaviors observed in wild bonobos (in fact, they display some behaviors such as tool use that have not been observed in the wild). The sanctuary plays a key role in the protection of wild bonobos because it makes possible the enforcement of domestic and international conservation laws aimed at preventing the trade in live bonobos. The sanctuary also acts as a mouthpiece for conservation efforts in DRC by educating thousands of Congolese visitors each year about the value of Congo's natural history, in particular the bonobo – their unique Congolese inheritance.

Ekolo ya Bonobo

Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve, which means “land of the bonobos” in

, is a 117,000 acre provincial-level

Protected Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in Equateur Province, 666 km from

. Ekolo ya Bonobo is a seasonally flooded swamp forest containing

peatland A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

and is partly contained within the Cuvette Central which is valued for

carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...

as well as

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. It is the only protected area that is co-managed by a DRC-based nonprofit, Les Amis Des Bonobos du Congo, in partnership with local communities; Ilonga Poo, Baenga, and Lisafa. Orphaned

s who have been rehabilitated at Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary are rewilded back to their natural habitat, along with their offspring. At Ekolo, which is in

Congo rainforest The Congolian rainforests ( French: ''Forêts tropicales congolaises'') are a broad belt of lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests which extend across the basin of the Congo River and its tributaries in Central Africa. Description The Congol ...

, bonobos are able to run free and forage as well as live together in their chosen social groups. Because Illegal wildlife trafficking and

trade continue to run rampant in Congo, forest- guards patrol the reserve daily for the safety of the bonobos and protection of the reserve. Friends of Bonobos of Congo has completed two bonobo rewildings so far. The first took place in 2008 when 11 rehabilitated bonobos were released to Ekolo ya Bonobo, along with their offspring. The second rewilding was completed in 2022 when 14 bonobos were released to the reserve. Before being rewilded, bonobos are quarantined to prevent introduction of illness to wild populations, and provided ample time to acclimate to the freedom of the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. Including babies born to the rewilded population, about 30 known bonobos were living in Ekolo in 2023. In June 2023, Ekolo ya Bonobo experienced a wave of unrest during which some members of a local community group that had been a partner on the project murdered 4 bonobos and set fire to installations belonging to the Friends of Bonobos of Congo conservation organization in the area around

Basankusu Basankusu is a town in Province of Équateur, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the main town and administrative centre of the Basankusu Territory. In 2004, it had an estimated population of 23,764. It has a gravel Basank ...

Education programs

Friends of Bonobos of the Congo run programs for Congolese adults and children to visit the sanctuary and learn more about Congolese

, bonobos, threats to conservation, and how to prevent bonobo

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. A third-party study found improvement in children's attitudes toward bonobos and

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

after the launch of this initiative. Friends of Bonobos of the Congo also has education programs that target provinces where

trade is rampant. As a result of these awareness programs, educated Congolese will often alert the staff when bonobos are captured and held locally in cages or are being sold in markets.

Visitor program

Lola ya Bonobo offers sanctuary tours and overnight stays in eco-lodges.

Research conducted

# Potential zoonotic pathogens hosted by endangered bonobos # Avoidance of Contaminated Food Correlates With Low Protozoan Infection in Bonobos # The Conservation Value of Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary # EAZA Best Practice Guidelines - Bonobo (''Pan paniscus'') # Implicit Measures Help Demonstrate the Value of Conservation Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo # The Effects of War on Bonobos and Other Nonhuman Primates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo # Multi-Modal Use of a Socially Directed Call in Bonobos # Bonobos Share with Strangers # Bonobo population dynamics: Past patterns and future predictions for the Lola ya Bonobo population using demographic modelling # Bonobos at the "Lola Ya Bonobo" Sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo # An Innovative Model for Detecting Interspecies Disease Transmission and Novel Pathogen Detection at Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary, Democratic Republic of Congo # Bonobos Share With Strangers Before Acquaintances # Flexible signalling strategies by victims mediate post-conflict interactions in bonobos # Assessing conservation attitudes and behaviors of Congolese children neighboring the world's first bonobo (''Pan paniscus'') release site # Bonobos Exhibit Delayed Development of Social Behavior and Cognition Relative to Chimpanzees # Psychological health of orphan bonobos and chimpanzees in African sanctuaries # Bonobos respond prosocially toward members of other groups # Social games between bonobos and humans: Evidence for shared intentionality? # On the Diversity of Malaria Parasites in African Apes and the Origin of ''Plasmodium falciparum'' from Bonobos. # Bonobos have a more human-like second-to-fourth finger length ratio (2D:4D) than chimpanzees: a hypothesized indication of lower prenatal androgens # Tolerance allows bonobos to outperform chimpanzees in a cooperative task

Films

# Bonobos: Back to the wild # The story of Lola ya Bonobo # Things You Probably Didn't Know About Cute Bonobos # Sex and Fruit: The Sweet Life of Bonobos # Lola Ya Bonobo - Le paradis des bonobos # Save the bonobos! # The Mamas of Lola ya Bonobo # The world's first bonobo release! # Bonobos # En RDC, cette réserve est un sanctuaire pour les bonobos # CUTE! Ticklish Bonobo Can't Stop Laughing

Friends of Bonobos

Friends of Bonobos is a US

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

charity that supports Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary and all the activities of its parent organization, Amis des Bonobos du Congo. It was founded by

and Dominique Morel. Friends of Bonobos also raises awareness for bonobos globally. Friends of Bonobos is located in Durham, North Carolina.

Notes

References

* Andre, C., Kamate, C., Mbonzo, P., Morel, D., Hare, B. 2008. The conservation value of Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary. * Takesi, I., Thompson, J. (Eds) ''Bonobos Revisited: ecology, behavior, genetics, and conservation''. Springer, New York. *Woods, Vanessa. ''Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo''. Gotham, 2010.

External links

Lola ya Bonobo

Friends of Bonobos

Bonobos Nature conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Primate sanctuaries Wildlife sanctuaries of Africa Tourist attractions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Organisations based in Kinshasa 1994 establishments in Africa {{coord, 04, 29, 13, S, 15, 16, 05, E, type:landmark_region:CD, display=title, name=Lola ya bonobo de:Claudine André#Lola ya Bonobo