"Five females Polly, Tao, Ngola, Djulie, and Bella were attacking this nearly 20-year-old male, who lay face down on the ground. The assault lasted 25 excruciating minutes for Hugo, who tried to cover his head while the entire clan watched without intervening, including some of his relatives. The females jumped alternatingly on Hugo's body, stomping on his back and biting his head, legs, neck, fingers and toes."
"One of the perpetrators bit into his foot and chewed on the removed tissue, then bit his testes, the scientists who documented the case describe in detail. Hugo's face was disfigured, his lips and eyebrows were bleeding, a large section of skin had been torn from his neck, his knuckles were bitten down to the bone, and he suffered severe injuries to his genitals."
On February 18, 2025, five female bonobos—Polly, Tao, Ngola, Djulie, and Bella—attacked a nearly 20-year-old male, Hugo, in the Salonga jungle. The assault began around 3:30 p.m., lasted roughly 25 minutes, and involved repeated stomping, biting, and sexual behaviors while other clan members watched without intervening. Hugo suffered extensive trauma: facial disfigurement, torn neck skin, bitten knuckles down to bone, genital injuries, and partial ear loss; he escaped about two hours later and remains missing, likely dead. The incident underscores complex bonobo social dynamics where female alliances and sexual behavior coexist with lethal aggression, contrasting with chimpanzee male hierarchies.
Read at english.elpais.com
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