A rare sanctuary in Congo looks after baby bonobos away from poaching threat

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A rare sanctuary in Congo looks after baby bonobos away from poaching threat

2026-05-13 14:24 Last Updated At：14:30

LOLA YA BONOBO, Congo (AP) — Micheline Nzonzi cradled a small and sleepy bonobo, an orphan whose life she will try to save over the next three years or so.

The 1-year-old's chances are good, with motherly affection, milk from a bottle and frequent play with other babies.

“Without me, without us, these bonobos cannot survive,” said Nzonzi, who has been a bonobo foster mother for 24 years. “They survive thanks to human affection.”

This primate nursery on the forested outskirts of the Congolese capital of Kinshasa is the world’s only sanctuary for orphaned bonobos, usually rescued from poachers or found trapped in the homes of locals who raise them for their meat.

Although great apes like the endangered bonobos are legally protected from hunters, they are still targeted to satisfy demand for bushmeat in areas far beyond the Congo Basin, an expansive rain forest that is sometimes called Earth’s second lung. The bushmeat trade ranges from rodents to antelopes, but a totemic ape like the bonobo may fetch a higher price.

“The bonobos are in danger. We are educating people to not kill the bonobos,” said Arsène Madimba, an educator with the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary. “We can’t kill them, we can’t put them at home as pets, we can’t eat them. Because of poaching, we can find big trading of orphaned bonobos across the country.”

Bonobos raise their babies for four to five years. Their low reproductive cycle means they are vulnerable to environmental disturbances. To protect them and their habitat, Congolese authorities last year broached the idea of issuing “bonobo credits,” similar to carbon credits, to reward communities for preserving forests. The program is yet to take off.

“There is a cultural difference” between Congo and neighboring Uganda, where apes are not hunted for meat, said primatologist Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of the Uganda-based Conservation Through Public Health group. “In Congo, they believe that you can become as strong as (the primate eaten)."

There are dozens of grown bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo. Some have lived there since 2002, when this sanctuary opened under the sponsorship of a conservation nonprofit known by its French name of Les Amis des Bonobos du Congo.

The nursery also has 11 young bonobos, with the most recent arriving earlier this year. Each baby is paired with a foster mother who will look after it for years before it can be transferred to bonobo groups open to visitors.

On rare occasions, an animal at Lola ya Bonobo eventually returns to the wild, which can take years of preparation.

Bonobos share nearly 99% of their DNA with humans and, along with chimpanzees, are our closest living relatives.

In the 1980s, primatologists estimated about 100,000 bonobos were left in the wild. The number is now estimated at roughly 20,000, an astonishing decline. The bonobo is threatened primarily by the commercial bushmeat trade, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The bonobo’s natural habitat is an area of dense equatorial forest south of the Congo River. Bonobos are rarely studied in the wild, and much of what is known about them emerged from studies in foreign zoos and by foreign researchers drawn to a fascinating creature.

The bonobo was first identified as a possibly separate species in 1929, when German anatomist Ernst Schwarz noticed a difference in the skull of a specimen believed to be a grown chimpanzee with an unusually small head. Schwarz’s rival, an American zoologist named Harold Coolidge, later provided detailed descriptions that made it possible in 1933 to classify the bonobo as a separate species.

The bonobo is relatively well-known among Americans, due in part to its reputation as one of the most intelligent, peaceful and empathetic animals. They may even have a capacity for imagination, according to a study published in 2025 by Johns Hopkins University.

Bonobos are led by females and distinguished by their apparent lack of sexual jealousy. When two groups meet, females may switch sides without provoking a fight, unlike chimpanzees and gorillas. They may initiate casual mating, which happens so frequently, so intensely, and with such variety of style that bonobos are described as the “hippie apes.”

In Kinshasa, the trade in primate meat has gone underground. Traders need permits to hunt antelopes and other species, but trading in “les macaques” is prohibited in part to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases such as Ebola.

“I used to sell monkeys before, but now we cannot sell monkeys, any type of monkeys,” said Charles Ntanga, a vendor at Masina market.

Ntanga wielded a flywhisk to swat flies that settled on the rancid carcass of a giant rodent before him, with a kilogram going for about $17. Guyva Mputu, the vendor next to him, was selling python, whose frozen flesh started to steam in the humid weather.

Baby bonobos captured by poachers are used to lure grown bonobos, which are shot when they come to investigate the noise, said Madimba of Lola ya Bonobo.

Orphaned bonobos build bonds with their caregivers, who often can identify each by name, said zookeeper Frank Lutete, whose role is to feed the animals. He paddled across the water to distribute papaya as the bonobos made a racket, coming down trees to collect his offerings.

Some bonobos thank him, he said, tapping their chests in a gesture of gratitude.

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Mets outfield prospect A.J. Ewing delivers in big league debut after fast rise through minors

NEW YORK (AP) — True to his baseball tools, speedy outfielder A.J. Ewing made a rapid rise through the minors.

He's certainly off to a fast start with the New York Mets, too.

Called up by the struggling Mets after just 12 games at Triple-A Syracuse, the 21-year-old Ewing was awfully impressive in his major league debut Tuesday night. Playing center field and batting eighth, he ripped an RBI triple in the seventh inning for his first career hit in a 10-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

“Good. Comfortable. Confident. Excited,” Ewing said when asked to describe how he felt. “It definitely beat my expectations. It’s indescribable what it was like to play up here in a big league stadium. It’s great.”

Ewing provided much more, too. He also walked three times, scored twice, drove in two runs, stole a base and flied out to the center-field warning track. He became the first Mets player with either a triple or three walks in his major league debut — and the first big league player with three walks and a steal in his debut since the modern stolen base rule was adopted in 1898, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.

In total, exactly the sort of jolt the sagging Mets (16-25) were seeking.

“Man, he was pretty much perfect at the plate today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He was just under control from the very beginning. And like I said, it’s pretty impressive.”

Ewing received a warm ovation from the Citi Field crowd of 36,382 before his first plate appearance, and he worked a seven-pitch walk from starter Jack Flaherty that loaded the bases with one out in the second.

“I just think that’s kind of part of my identity as a hitter is I’m patient. I see a lot of pitches and I make pitchers work hard,” Ewing said. “Just looking around when I got to first base for the first time, that was when it kind of hit. ... Like wow, this is baseball.”

Desperate to spark a stagnant lineup, New York brought Ewing to the majors after he had played only 58 games above High-A ball. He was the club’s second-ranked minor league prospect behind pitcher Jonah Tong, according to MLB.com.

The high-priced Mets began the day ranked 29th among the 30 big league teams in batting average (.222), tied for last in runs (139) and stuck at the bottom by far with a .628 OPS.

“I’m confident in my ability and I’m just going to play the same game that I’ve been playing,” Ewing said before the game. “It’s awesome to be here and I’m ready to go.”

Luis Robert Jr., the team’s opening-day center fielder, is on the injured list with a lumbar spine disk herniation. New York is also missing star shortstop Francisco Lindor and first baseman Jorge Polanco because of injuries.

“The situation the big league club is in and the opportunity that’s here right now is certainly part of it. But we would not have made the decision to promote A.J. if we didn’t think he was ready for the moment,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said.

Utility player Andy Ibáñez was designated for assignment to open a roster spot for Ewing.

The left-handed hitter was batting .326 with three doubles, a triple and four RBIs in 51 plate appearances at Syracuse. He had drawn five walks, stolen five bases and scored nine runs.

“There was a lot to like from the very beginning of spring training watching him play and go about his business. The energy, the passion, the smile, and then the tools. You know, the skill set that he brings. It was just eye-opening, to be honest with you,” Mendoza said.

“Obviously, he can help you win baseball games in a lot of different ways. Defensively, baserunning. Offensively it’s a simple swing, simple approach, short to the baseball, uses the whole field. And the makeup of the player. Even though he’s only 21, he’s pretty mature and he’s super consistent. That shows us that, hey, let’s give him an opportunity here.”

Ewing stole 70 bases in 81 attempts combined at three minor league levels last year. He also played second base and both corner outfield spots in the minors, but Mendoza said the Mets will primarily keep him in center initially to help him acclimate to the majors.

“Pretty well-rounded player right now. There aren’t a ton of holes in his game,” Stearns said. “And then there is this ability to handle different situations. He’s a pretty mature kid for a young player. He’s demonstrated that throughout his time in our system. That doesn’t mean this is going to go flawlessly for him.”

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Ewing reached Double-A Binghamton last year, hitting .339 in 28 games, and batted .349 with a 1.053 OPS and 12 steals in 18 games at that level this season before getting promoted to Syracuse on April 27.

He was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 amateur draft out of Springboro High School in Ohio with the pick the Mets received as compensation for losing Jacob deGrom in free agency.

Ewing said his nerves were dissipating as game time approached. He said his father would be in the Citi Field stands Tuesday night along with some close family friends.

“As soon as I got drafted it was like a dream of mine to play here,” Ewing said. “I’m ready to compete.”

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