Bonobo apes share food just like humans

A new research on Bonobo apes has shown that they share food 'freely' just like humans do.

Until now, it was thought that humans were the only primates to share food in this way.
 
Brian Hare of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Suzy Kwetuenda of the Lola Ya Bonobo refuge for orphaned bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted an experiment to reach the conclusion.

The experiments at the bonobo orphanage were conducted before breakfast, when the apes were hungry, reports New Scientist.

The researchers observed the animals unlock a door into their enclosure to let another hungry bonobo enter and share their food.

In fact, the other ape was not even a member of the same group and had not been encountered before.

Hare believes that it suggests an ability in bonobos to act unselfishly.