Bonobo "Baby Talk" Reveals Roots of Human Language

We visit the Jacksonville Zoo to spend some quality family time with the endangered apes, among our closest kin.

At five-and-a-half years old, the female bonobo is at "a really punky stage," says Tracy Fenn, supervisor of mammals at the Jacksonville Zoo. (Read more about bonobos in National Geographic magazine.)

Florida already feels like a sauna on this July day, but Neely Ann's mother, Kuni, a high-ranking female, is loving it. She climbs to the top of a wooden platform to get closer to the sun. From the visitor area, about 30 feet (9 meters) away, I watch her, Neely Ann, a male named Akili, and first-time mom Jo-T with her nine-month-old son Lukuru (Luke for short).

Summer is often family time, so when Jeffrey Pool asked us via Facebook, "Are bonobos patriarchal?" Weird Animal Question

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