Lisala

Lisala was one of the bonbos who was very sick; they pulled her out of group 3 when they saw she couldn't breathe, and brought her to the vet block. She was another one of the bonobos we have known since she was small. So every day I would drive Anne Marie, the vet, nuts by asking her about 50 times about Lisala. She was on oxygen for a while, her breathing was so constricted.

But she made it and Brian figured while she was in the building all day he'd use her for the test. The test is whether Kasongo would open a door using a bonobo key to let Lisala in to share food with him. Most scientists think that only humans will give something in exchange for nothing (altruism) but Brian has an inkling bonobos might do it.

Alas for the Kasongo/Lisala trial, Kasongo unlocked the door and let Lisala in, she went straight for the food and pushed her bottom in the air so Kasongo could have sex with her while she ate all the food. I'm not sure if that's altruism. Sounds more like my study, food for sex ...


We still need more than $20,000 for bonobo food - please help if you can. www.friendsofbonobos.org/support.htm or lolayabonobo.wildlifedirect.org