Twycross Zoo: Set the mood this Valentine's Day with The Bonobo's Guide to Love

Bonobos are a unique ape, operating in female-led communities, and are known for their caring and affectionate nature. As a group, they are always quick to resolve conflict and their nurturing behaviour sees them holding hands, hugging and more often than not — having sex.  

Twycross Zoo is the only zoo in the UK that is home to a troop of bonobos. This troop forms 10 per cent of the entire European population of bonobos, which has enabled its zookeepers to become well acquainted with the species and observe its interesting approach to relationships and sex.  

The Bonobo’s Guide to Love is a compilation of behaviours practiced by bonobos in their troops to nurture familial, platonic and polyamorous relationships, engage in sexual relations, and resolve conflict — all of which serves to preserve harmony among the troops’ members.  

Some examples include gift giving, excellent communication, pampering each other, and no surprise for this species – intimate acts to show their affection. 

Twycross Zoo, Ape Keeper, Anneliese Braidley said: “Humans share a common ancestor with bonobos, as well as more than 98 per cent of the same DNA, making them our closest living relatives and potentially the perfect role models for improving human relationships. 

“Without the complications of modern dating life, bonobos maintain a focus on nurturing relationships, aren’t afraid to act on impulse and desire, and always find a way to resolve tensions that arise in their troop — behaviours that we as humans could all learn from. 

“I’m lucky enough to work with them daily and see the amazing way they operate as a uniquely female-led species. So, is it a coincidence that World Bonobo Day falls on the same day as Valentine’s Day? Given bonobos’ loving nature, I don’t think so.” 

As well as being masters of love, Twycross Zoo’s troop of bonobos is involved in a conservation programme to preserve the species’ global population, due to their classification as “Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.  

This forms part of Twycross Zoo’s conservation efforts as the zoo works closely with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Ex Situ Programme, which aims to maintain healthy and thriving populations of endangered animals within zoo care.  

This Valentine’s Day — and World Bonobo Day — is the perfect opportunity to take a leaf out of the bonobos’ book when it comes to romance with The Bonobo’s Guide to Love. 

To learn more about this fascinating species, please visit Twycross Zoo’s website or come and see the UK’s only bonobo troop in person, as well as 70 other species across the zoo’s 100 acres of outdoor space.  

For more information or to book your next trip, visit twycrosszoo.org