The Great Apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) are our closest living relatives, sharing a common ancestor only five million years ago. We also share key features such as high intelligence, omnivorous diets, prolonged child-rearing and rich social lives. The Great Apes show a surprising diversity of adaptations, particularly in social life, ranging from the solitary life of orangutans, through patriarchy in gorillas to complex but different social organizations in bonobos and chimpanzees. As Great Apes are so close to humans, comparisons yield essential knowledge for modeling...

The behavior of chimpanzees is complex and challenging: they can be cheerful, curious, and tolerant while also being capable of cunning, greed, and violence. Until now, there has been no comprehensive glossary with illustrations upon which systematic behavioral comparisons could be based. Combining recent video footage with decades worth of documented across- and within-population variations in behavior, this volume is the first to compile an extensive ethogram of a single species of mammal. The wild chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains and Gombe National Park, Tanzania, have been observed in...