Effective conservation requires devoted boots-on-the-ground commitment. BCI’s field teams are on the front lines of the fight to save bonobos. They thwart poachers, and they gather critical information about bonobos and their behavior. BCI has trained and equipped over 200 trackers and ecoguards, providing protection for bonobos and economic opportunity for local residents.

The most heartbreaking consequence of the illegal bushmeat trade is the orphans who are left behind. Too small to be killed for meat, they are put on the black market as pets or they are abandoned, unable to survive alone. For every orphan found, at least one adult bonobo has been killed, and often many more. BCI and partners have rescued more than two dozen orphans, giving them a second chance at life.

It is illegal to hunt bonobos, but the practice is widespread and ongoing, posing a major threat to bonobo populations. BCI coordinates with local authorities and communities to stop and prevent poaching.

Groundbreaking research is underway to discover more about bonobos. Bonobos’ remote location and small population present challenges to researchers. Our field teams have done outstanding work to habituate groups of bonobos to human presence, allowing scientists to observe them more closely. For more than 15 years, BCI has been working closely with the DRC Ministry of Scientific Research to conduct surveys and build the capacity of Congolese personnel. Now we are partnering with researchers from Harvard University to gain greater insight into the incredible and understudied bonobo. The more we know about bonobos, the more we know how to help them.