CUDDLING
Photographer Christian Ziegler’s “Highly Commended Image” at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, BBC, shows a bonobo cuddling a mongoose in Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The intriguing question here is whether the mongoose figured in the ape’s dinner plans or was viewed more like a pet. In captivity, where apes have more than enough to eat, it’s not unusual to see them care for other species, such as a gorilla who helps a duckling get back into the water moat or a bonobo trying to gently revive a bird who has flown against the glass of her enclosure. Apes may show empathy towards small creatures. But they also sometimes eat them. Bonobos do eat meat, but most of their diet consists of fruits and leaves. We shouldn’t be surprised by the ambivalent relationship they have with other animals, because we are the same: some we keep as pets, some we eat.
It seems that this young male bonobo was taking care of the mongoose. According to Ziegler there were no signs of aggression and in the end, after about one hour, the mongoose was released.