Behavioral Study Section -- The Bonobo's Adaptive Potential: Social Relations under Captive Conditions -- What Does Agonistic Dominance Imply in Bonobos? -- Social Play in Bonobos: Not Only an Immature Matter -- Gestures and Multimodal Signaling in Bonobos -- Ecological Study Section -- Longitudinal Structure of a Unit-group of Bonobos: Male Philopatry and Possible Fusion of Unit-groups -- Seasonal Changes in Fruit Production and Party Size of Bonobos at Wamba -- Relationships among Fruit Abundance, Ranging Rate, and Party Size and Composition of Bonobos at Wamba -- Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Density Estimation in the SW-Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Common Methodology Revisited -- Ecological Factors Influencing Bonobo Density and Distribution in the Salonga National Park: Applications for Population Assessment -- Range Occupation and Population Estimates of Bonobos in the Salonga National Park: Application to Large-scale Surveys of Bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- Conservation Study Section -- Traditional Land-use Practices for Bonobo Conservation -- Human Hunting and its Impact on Bonobos in the Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo -- The Bonobos of the Lake Tumba - Lake Maindombe Hinterland: Threats and Opportunities for Population Conservation -- Changes in the Status of Bonobos, their Habitat, and the Situation of Humans at Wamba in the Luo Scientific Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo -- The Conservation Value of Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary. The Bonobos: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation provides a succinct yet comprehensive review of the current state of research and conservation efforts regarding the bonobos. The bonobos are one of the least known of the great apes although they are one of our closest living relatives, sharing 98.8% of DNA sequences. This text summarizes and analyses scientific research on the bonobos, as well as presents the most up-to-date findings from the field and captive studies. Further, the text presents compelling findings and solid population assessments for estimating wild population density and distribution. The first section of the book presents research progress in the study of behavior of captive bonobos. These behavioral studies make important strides in our understanding of bonobo social relationships, agonistic dominance, social play, and signaling. The outcomes concerning high social status of females and flexible and complicated social communication may shed light on the study of evolution of both bonobos and humans. The second section deals with ecological studies that have been carried out since the post- conflict resumption of field research in Democratic Republic of Congo. Methodologies that have been improved over recent years in the study of the other great apes have now been applied to the study of bonobos, which enables comprehensive comparison for understanding hominids'' adaptation to the African tropical forest. Furthermore, differing and newly -developed census methods have been employed to reveal the current status of bonobos in Africa's largest forested protected area, the Salonga National Park. The text's final section centers on the most urgent conservation priorities and reviews local and global aspects of the factors threatening the wild bonobo population. The role of humans in the future of bonobo conservation is examined. Further, the first ever large-scale and small-scale regional surveys are presented, as well as how the world's only sanctuary for orphaned bonobos can respond to offer estimatesthe consequences of population density and distribution through reliable quantitative data. These studies provide compelling results and a solid population assessment.the live animal trade. Encouraging reports detail the presence and abundance of bonobos existing across their historic range. These contributions not only illuminate the current status of the bonobobonobos but allow for critically designing the next steps for the continuation of their future. About the Editors: Dr. Takeshi Furuichi is Professor in the Faculty of International Studies of Meiji-Gakuin University, Japan. He has carried out ecological and behavioral studies of bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas all across Africa for more than 20 years, in order to reveal the evolutionary process of hominids. Dr. Jo Thompson is the Director of the Lukuru Wildlife Research Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has maintained her field work for more than 16 years focused on bonobo ecology and conservation in alliance with the local people.