Enjoy a slideshow of the past year’s activities in the Bonobo Peace Forest!
It's our silver anniversary! To celebrate this milestone, First Light Foundation has generously offered a $25,000 challenge grant. Help us reach our $25,000 goal and double the impact of your donation!
Keep up to date with BCI's activities
Bonobos are on the closest branch of the human family tree, sharing more than 98% of the same DNA. Learn more about our relatives and how you can help them.
Bonobos stand at the brink of extinction. One hundred percent of our programs are dedicated to protecting bonobos and their rainforest home.
Check out this video spotlight on our Equator Prize-winning friends at Vie Sauvage, produced by @oneearth and the @equatorinitiative
This music video by Congolese musician Werrason is part of a campaign aimed at raising awareness and stopping bonobo hunting throughout the DRC.
The Congo rainforest is vital to all life on Earth. BCI is already protecting more than 12,000 square miles of rainforest on two large nature reserves, and the Bonobo Peace Forest is still growing.
Ashley Judd explains why bonobos are special and how the Bonobo Peace Forest is helping to protect them. Photo: Frans Lanting
The Congolese people are the ultimate stewards of the bonobo habitat. BCI and partners provide livelihood programs, educational opportunities, health care, and more to Congolese communities.
15,000 bonobos
remain in the wild.
Humankind’s sister species. Peaceful.
Intelligent. Loving. Endangered.
9 million acres
of officially protected rainforest, and 2 million more on the way in the Bonobo Peace Forest.
25 years
of collaboration with indigenous communities and organizations to protect the Congo Basin.
Latest News from BCI
When the Bonobo Conservation Initiative was founded 25 years ago, we started with a small group of motivated people, an even smaller budget ($200, to be exact!) and one very big idea: protecting bonobos and their rainforest home. The obstacles were—and are—enormous.
Enjoy a slideshow of this year’s activities in the Bonobo Peace Forest!
1 Min Read
Hunting is the greatest threat to bonobo survival. While the solution may seem straightforward, the consumption and trading of wild-caught meat is actually an incredibly complex and multi-layered issue. Theodore Trefon’s new book, Bushmeat: Culture, Economy and Conservation in Central Africa, analyzes the trade and consumption of bushmeat...
9 Min Read
We love sharing updates with you on the research program in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, and we especially love it when we get to share news of a brand new bonobo baby. We are absolutely over the moon to report that there have been not one, not two, but THREE new additions to the Kokoalongo bonobo group this summer!
2 Min Read
Interconnected Challenges... Interconnected Solutions
Bonobos, humans, and the rainforest need each other to survive. Read more about how BCI's programs are tackling this challenge.
Our founder and President Sally Coxe discusses the critical issues facing bonobos and what we're doing to help.