Los Pan paniscusbetter known as bonobosare the closest relatives of humans and are known for being exceptionally peaceful primates. However, a violent and coordinated attack by five females against an adult male in the national park of Loungein the Democratic Republic of the Congobaffled the experts.
The incident occurred on February 18, 2025, and was witnessed by investigators from the Bonobo LuiKotale Projectan initiative whose goal is the continuous recording of long-term data on the behavior and lifestyle of wild bonobos. Experts arrived at the scene shortly after 3:30 p.m., alerted by a sudden burst of communal vocalizations.
The target of the attack was an adult male identified as Hugo. Observers found Hugo lying face down on the ground, being continually assaulted by five adult females: Polly, Tao, Ngola, Djulie and Bella.
The event was documented and published in the magazine Current Biologywhere the researchers detailed that the females, who – with the exception of Polly – had immigrated to the community between 2012 and 2019, They were well integrated members of the group.
Five strands of bonobo attacked a male. Illustrative photo: Pixabay.For approximately 25 minutes, the aggressors They alternately jumped on Hugo’s bodytrampling on his back and biting his head, legs, neck, fingers and toes.
A female bit him and tore off part of his ear. Others bit his testicles. One of the attackers bit her foot, chewing on the removed tissue. The knuckles of his hands were bitten to the bone, several of his toes were torn off, and his face was disfigured with bleeding marks on his lips and eyebrows.
He lost large chunks of hair on his head, shoulders and back, and a large piece of skin was missing from his neck. While Hugo remained motionlessemitting monotonous «stress screeches», almost the entire community watched the scene silently from a distance of 5 to 10 meters.
The spectators did not intervene. Even Apollo, Hugo’s maternal half-brother, was present, but gave him no support. In an unusual and paradoxical twist, two of the attackers engaged in genital-genital rubbing with each other right above Hugo as the attack continued.
The target of the attack was an adult male identified as Hugo. Illustrative photo: Pixabay.After the brutal beating, the main aggressors paused. For the next 90 minutes, They dedicated themselves to licking the blood from the male’s body and from their own fingers. Other bonobos, including juveniles and uninvolved females, joined in licking Hugo’s wounds or the attackers’ fingers. Apollo, Hugo’s half-brother, came over to lick his wounded scrotum.
At 17:30, Hugo managed to walk a few bipedal steps and, pursued by some members of the group, managed to use his injured knuckles to flee. Researchers followed community members for more than 150 days after the event and Hugo has not been seen since.. Given the severity of his injuries, the authors consider that the attack was likely fatal.
A possible trigger: the previous conflict between Hugo and a child
Although male bonobos do exhibit high rates of aggression, Bonobo females are notable for confronting males without needing support. However, this assault was a cooperative action. Although the females acted simultaneously independently, none of them could have carried out the aggression alone.
The trigger for the attack is unknown, as investigators did not witness it. One hypothesis suggests that the aggression could have been provoked by a previous act by Hugo against an immature individual.. Two days earlier, Hugo had been seen pulling Bella’s calf – one of the attackers – while copulating with her, which resulted in Bella charging at the male.
One hypothesis suggests that the aggression could have been provoked by a previous act by Hugo against an immature individual. Illustrative photo: ShutterstockThis case of intra-group coalitional violence is exceptional. However, it shows that females use physical power to impose dominance over males and that joint attacks can endanger the survival of victims.
For female perpetrators, the costs of aggression are low when they unite against a single individual who will receive no agonizing support. The benefits of such attacks could include consolidating dominance status and strengthening social bonds.
