Conservation through education: Bonobos sponsors its namesake
Marshall Roy — January 8, 2009 @ 3:46 pm
If you invited every bonobo on the planet to a Cubs game, there probably wouldn’t be enough of them alive to fill Wrigley to capacity.
We would like to change this.
Bonobos, Inc. has become an official corporate sponsor of Lola ya Bonobo, a sanctuary for these critically endangered apes. Located just outside Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lola ya Bonobo means “paradise for bonobos” in Lingala, the predominant dialect of Kinshasa.
We became aware of this sanctuary’s amazing cause after a dedicated research scientist, author, and conservationist (Vanessa Woods of Duke University) contacted Andy Dunn, Bonobos CEO. Vanessa is a board member of Friends of Bonobos, an American non-profit that sponsors Lola ya Bonobo. Her husband, Dr. Brian Hare, is a leading Bonobos researcher and professor at Duke. She decided to get in touch with Andy after buying her husband—no joke—the Congos (“…unlike the usual American fat pants, these pants actually make Brian’s bum look hot,” she blogged).
Bonobos are human beings’ closest genetic relative, sharing 98.7% of our DNA, and they are endangered mainly because of habitat destruction and poaching. According to Friends of Bonobos, adult bonobos are hunted for bushmeat (targeted over rodents and other small mammals) and the orphans are illegally sold as pets in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. An infant bonobo can sell for $60,000 US on the black market. Lola ya Bonobo provides 60 acres of African forest where the rescued orphans are reared by surrogate mothers and socially stimulated, their release into the wild and sustainable reproduction being the ultimate goal. The Congo Basin is an area of jungle three times the size of France, and there is no region in the world more suitable for bonobos.
Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to this awesome organization!
Tragically, ongoing civil unrest, in addition to leaving over 5 million Congolese dead, destroys the bonobos’ habitat and also makes social/ecological activism (like the work done at Lola ya Bonobo) difficult and hazardous. The Democratic Republic of Congo has not yet recovered from the recent violence, its most devastating since WWII. The nation continues to be plagued by regional violence, humanitarian crises, and malnutrition.
By sponsoring this wonderful sanctuary, we will be able to raise awareness of these issues in the DRC and begin to play a small role in improving life in this beautiful country. Check three infant bonobos that reside in the sanctuary: Kataco, Lomela, and Boyama. As the company grows, we look forward to increasing our activism on behalf of these gentle, endangered apes. Learn more about what makes them extraordinary by watching this fascinating and educational video, and visit our blog frequently for updates!
[kml_flashembed movie="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf?vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/SusanSavageRumbaugh_2004-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/SusanSavageRumbaugh-2004.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=76" width="446" height="326" wmode="transparent" /]
12 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Way to go guys! Maybe those Bonobos could rock a pair of Congos!…now that would be one heck of a photo shoot.
But seriously congrats on the collaboration with the “Friends of Bonobos”
[Reply]
[...] the peaceful bonobos live only in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. We observe the bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo, a sanctuary dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and r… Additionally, Lola ya Bonobo works hard to help the Congolese people by teaching school children [...]
[...] about Africa a lot these days, with our ongoing initiative to help save our namesakes at the Lola ya Bonobos Orphanage in the Congo. So how timely to receive this photo from one of our growing army of female Bonobos [...]
[...] To support the endangered Bonobos, we have become an official corporate sponsor of Lola ya Bonobo, a sanctuary for these critically endangered apes. Located just outside Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lola ya Bonobo means “paradise for bonobos” in Lingala, the predominant dialect of Kinshasa. Read more about our partnership here. [...]
You all are doing such amazing work. I can’t stop watching these amazing, intelligent, gentle beings. I am ashamed to be a member of a species that has systmatically destroyed their habibtate, and sells them on the black market I am speechless that they would have anything to do with people after what they have been through. Pepole need to be more like them.
[Reply]
[...] ya Bonobo, a sanctuary for the endangered great apes. We began our relationship with Lola ya Bonobo earlier this year, when we sponsored three young bonobos. Since then, their budget has been hit hard by the global [...]
[...] Woods, a researcher from Duke University, is a friend of Bonobos and our contact person for our philanthropic efforts with Lola Ya Bonobo in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, we had the pleasure of meeting her in person! [...]
Your blog is very exciting to write well, I will visit again
[Reply]
You write well, I agree, I like the safety valve
[Reply]
You write too good, if you have to write better, I will come back to see, I like offset butterfly valve.
[Reply]
I like very much, you write have the depth very much, I already took in the bookmark, I anticipated that the next time visit can give me the new thing
[Reply]
So great to see this! Thanks for caring about the bonobos, it’s wonderful. There should be more like you!
[Reply]